Gunfire near White House, gunman shot dead

A man opened fire Saturday evening against a security checkpoint near the White House in Washington, before being shot dead by Secret Service police officers, according to authorities who also reported a passerby injured in the shooting.

US President Donald Trump, the target of three alleged assassination attempts over the past two years, was in the White House at the time of the shooting, after having canceled all his weekend trips due to the crisis with Iran. He was not affected by the incident, said Anthony Guglielmi, spokesperson for the Secret Service, a police agency responsible for protecting the presidency and vice-president, in a statement.

Shortly after 6:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m. GMT), a man who was near the White House security perimeter “pulled a gun from his bag and opened fire,” Mr. Guglielmi wrote.

“Secret Service police officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. During the shooting, a passerby was also hit by bullets,” added this official, without giving details on the state of health of this passerby.

No Secret Service agents were injured.

"Thank you to our wonderful Secret Service and law enforcement agents for the quick and professional response this evening to an armed man near the White House who had a history of violence and appeared obsessed with our nation's most cherished building," Mr. Trump on his Truth social network.

Several American media outlets identified the suspect as Nasire Best, 21. According to them, this man from the state of Maryland, near Washington, had a history of mental disorders and was already known to the Secret Service for having loitered around the White House on several occasions.

A Canadian tourist, Reid Adrian, told AFP that he was in the area when "we heard between 20 and 25 explosions that sounded like fireworks, but they were gunshots, and then everyone started running."

– Closed perimeter –

Police sealed off access to the White House and National Guard soldiers prevented an AFP journalist from entering the area. Reporters who were on the North Lawn at the time reported on X that they were ordered to run for cover in the White House press room.

ABC News correspondent Selina Wang was recording a video for social media when gunshots apparently rang out. She captured the sound of the explosions as she threw herself to the ground.

“It sounded like dozens of gunshots,” she said on X.

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