The Secret Service abruptly stopped the press conference that Donald Trump was addressing to escort him out due to reports of shooting outside the White House.
US President Donald Trump was rushed out of a news conference after Secret Service agents shot and wounded a man who claimed to be armed outside the White House. The shooting took place around Pennsylvania avenue, on the corner of the 17th street which is a few blocks away from the White House.
According to the District of Columbia fire department, the man suffered possibly critical injuries after being transferred to a local hospital. The reason for the shooting hasn't been confirmed but the authorities are investigating whether the individual has a history of mental illness.
“There was an actual shooting and somebody’s been taken to the hospital,” Trump said. The president said the shots were fired by law enforcement and that he believed the individual who was shot was armed. “It was the suspect who was shot,” Trump said.
The Secret Service said that the suspect was "aggressively" approaching the agent and claimed to have weapons with him and was shot in the torso. Hence, the press conference that Trump was addressing had to be disrupted. But the president returned a few minutes later and assured that the situation was under control.
The Secret Service did not say whether the man was armed. It added that "both the officer and the suspect were then taken to hospital", and that "at no time during this incident was the White House complex breached".