A man was wounded and a child was struck by a bullet Monday afternoon after a Secret Service shooting near the White House, prompting a brief lockdown of the complex and road closures around the Washington Monument.
Secret Service officers in regular clothes spotted a person who appeared to have a firearm near the outer perimeter of the White House complex at about 3:30 p.m., according to officials. Uniformed officers then tried to approach him near 15th Street and Independence Avenue in D.C., close to the Sidney R. Yates building.
When contact was made, Matthew Quinn said, the man fled briefly on foot, withdrew a firearm and fired at agents and officers. Secret Service officers returned fire and engaged him. The man was hospitalized after being shot.
Investigators believe the child was hit by the armed man’s gunfire, not by law enforcement, and the child's injuries were not considered life threatening. D.C. police said the scene was secure and said their department will investigate the Secret Service officers’ use of force.
The confrontation unfolded blocks from the White House and near the Washington Monument, an area that was already busy with law enforcement response. Quinn said the vice president’s motorcade passed through the area not long before the shooting occurred.
Several roadways near the Washington Monument were closed, including a portion of Independence Avenue SW from 14th Street to Maine Avenue SW and 15th Street from Constitution Avenue NW to Maine Avenue SW. Police said the closures could last for several hours.
The immediate danger appears to have passed, but the investigation now turns on how a routine perimeter patrol became a gunfight in the heart of the capital.
