Updated: May 23, 2026, at 9:58 p.m.
U.S. Secret Service officers traded gunfire with an armed individual near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Saturday evening, leaving the gunman dead and a bystander injured, law enforcement officials confirmed.
Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement a gunman approached a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint shortly after 6 p.m., pulled out a weapon from his bag and opened fire on posted officers. Guglielmi said the Secret Service returned fire and struck the gunman, who was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Guglielmi said a bystander also sustained a gunshot wound, but did not specify whether the gunman or the Secret Service hit the bystander. He said no Secret Service personnel sustained injuries during the incident and President Donald Trump remained unharmed at the White House at the time of the shooting.
A GW Hospital spokesperson declined to comment on whether any patients were transported to the hospital as a result of the incident, citing patient privacy laws. The Metropolitan Police Department said in a post on X that they are on the scene and assisting the Secret Service in the investigation. A D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson deferred comment to the Secret Service.
Law enforcement maintained a heavy presence along 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW following the shooting and secured the area as officials responded to the scene. Officials placed the White House under lockdown for around 45 minutes, lifting it at 6:46 p.m.
Video footage from the area showed journalists on White House North Lawn at the time of the shooting before Secret Service officers ushered them into the White House press briefing room.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X the agency is on the scene and “supporting” the Secret Service’s response to the incident but did not provide any further details on the shooting.
The shooting was just blocks away from where a gunman opened fire on two National Guard members last November outside the Farragut West Metro station. Secret Service officers also exchanged gunfire with an armed individual on the National Mall earlier this month.
This post was updated to include the following:
This story was updated to include comment from the MPD.
