Two people were injured after a shooting involving a U.S. Secret Service officer near the Washington Monument Monday afternoon, law enforcement officials confirmed.
A Secret Service Police officer shot an individual who appeared to have a firearm at around 3:30 p.m. after the individual fired shots in the direction of law enforcement officers near 15th Street and Independence Avenue, SW, Matt Quinn, the deputy director of the Secret Service said at a news conference Monday. Quinn said law enforcement believes the suspect also hit a juvenile bystander who did not sustain life-threatening injuries, and both the suspect and the bystander were transported to the hospital.
“The incident resulted from a confrontation between an armed individual and Secret Service Police,” the Secret Service said in a social media post.
The Metropolitan Police Department and D.C. Fire and Emergency Services responded to the scene at around 3:40 p.m. and both the suspect and bystander are receiving treatment at a hospital, according to FEMS Public Information Officer Vito Maggiolo.
Quinn said plainclothes Secret Service officers encountered a “suspicious” adult male who appeared to have a firearm, with agents observing what they believed to be the “visual print” of a firearm. Quinn said the plainclothes officers followed the suspect for a “brief” period of time before they called in backup from uniformed Secret Service personnel who then engaged with the suspect.
The incident escalated when the individual briefly fled on foot and fired in the direction of the agents and officers, prompting an officer to return fire, Quinn said.
Quinn did not comment on the condition of the suspect, but said law enforcement recovered a weapon from the scene.
Quinn nor other law enforcement officials specified which hospital the individual and juvenile were sent to. A GW Hospital spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the victims are being treated at GW Hospital.
Quinn said, “not long before” the shooting occurred, Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade passed through the area, but the suspect did not approach the motorcade. He also said the MPD will lead the investigation into the use of force.
MPD said in a post on X at 4:13 p.m. the scene was secure, and the roads surrounding the area will be closed for several hours.
The Secret Service briefly locked down the White House in response to the incident. Law enforcement has blocked off 15th Street from Constitution to Maine avenues SW, along with Independence Avenue SW from 14th to 15th streets, for their investigation.
Arunmoy Das contributed reporting.
