- U.S. President Donald Trump has been evacuated from a press briefing after a man who claimed he was armed was shot by security personnel near the White House
- President Trump was interrupted by a Secret Service member moments after the briefing began, and was quickly escorted from the room
- A 51-year-old male suspect and one officer were taken to hospital after the shooting, which took place outside the White House perimeter
- After returning to the briefing, the President continued to talk on the stock market and his administration’s coronavirus response
- The investigation into the shooting is ongoing
U.S. President Donald Trump has been evacuated from a press briefing after a man who claimed he was armed was shot by security personnel near the White House.
President Trump was interrupted by a Secret Service member moments after the briefing began, and was quickly escorted from the room.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Secret Service, a 51-year-old male approached a uniformed officer and said he had a weapon before running at the officer and “in a drawing motion, withdrew an object from his clothing.”
“He then crouched into a shooter’s stance as if about to fire a weapon,” the statement continued. “The Secret Service officer discharged his weapon, striking the individual in the torso.”
Both the officer and the suspect were taken to hospital for treatment, though the gravity of any injuries sustained remains unknown.
President Trump resumed the briefing shortly after the interruption.
“There was a shooting outside of the White House. And it seems very well under control,” Trump said.
He said no law enforcement were injured in the incident.
When asked about the proximity of the shooting to the White House, Trump said occurred outside the White House perimeter.
“I don’t believe anything was breached, they were relatively far away,” he said.
The Secret Service confirmed, “at no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger.”
When asked if reports of the shooting had rattled him, the President replied: “The world has always been a dangerous place. Not something that is unique. You look back over the centuries, the world has been a dangerous place, very dangerous place, and it will continue, I guess, for a period of time,” he added.
Trump then resumed talking on the performance of the stock market and his administration’s coronavirus response.
The investigation is ongoing.