U.S. Secret Service agents shot an armed individual near the White House on Monday evening. The shooting occurred during the same time President Trump gave a speech—his first address since the escalation in the Persian Gulf began.
2+According to a federal source and the Deputy Director of the Secret Service, the event unfolded after surveillance teams spotted a weapon on a suspect. When teams attempted to make contact, the suspect fled on foot, drew a handgun, and opened fire on the agents. The agents returned fire and neutralized him.
During the exchange, a minor bystander was hit by the suspect’s gunfire and was evacuated to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The Deputy Director noted that Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade had passed through the area shortly before, though there is currently no indication of a link between the two events.
2+A senior Secret Service official refused to determine whether President Trump was the intended target. The suspect was evacuated to the hospital alive. Local police closed the area for several hours for the investigation, clarifying that there is no further threat to the public.
During his speech, the President provided updates regarding the conflict with Iran:
“I call this war a ‘mini-war’ because that’s what Iran has become. Out of 159 ships, how many do you think they have left? Guess,” Trump asked a woman in attendance. “They have no navy, no air force, no planes or equipment for them, no radars, they have nothing—they don’t even have leaders.”
2+Regarding the nuclear issue, he stated: “Even though they have nothing, I cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons, otherwise they will have unbelievable problems. It is progressing very well. If the wrong person were in my place, we would be in World War III right now.”
The shooting follows a previous assassination attempt during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25, part of an alarming spike of political violence targeting President Trump and American conservatives.