Trump Exists Briefing Room After Shooting Near White House

Aug 11, 2020, 11:03 IST

US President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted from the White House press room in the middle of a briefing on Monday. The President was just minutes away from his coronavirus briefing when a Secret Service agent told Trump to leave the podium and evacuate the room immediately, along with other administration officials. Trump and the staff members left, and the doors to the briefing room, still full of journalists, were closed.

The Secret Service said in a tweet "The investigation into a USSS officer involved shooting is ongoing. A male subject and a USSS officer were both transported to a local hospital. At no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger."

Trump said that, "It was a shooting outside of the White House. It seems to be very well under control. But there was an actual shooting, and somebody has been taken to the hospital. I don't know the condition of the person."

Law enforcement authorities have been trying to determine the motive of the perpetrator. The Secret Service reported the shooting shortly afterwards, describing it as "an officer involved shooting at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Ave."

A Secret Service statement said: “A 51-year-old male approached a US Secret Service uniformed division officer who was standing at his post on the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the White House complex. The suspect approached the officer and told the officer he had a weapon. The suspect then turned around, ran aggressively towards the officer, and in a drawing motion, withdrew an object from his clothing."

He then crouched into the shooter's stance as if he was about to fire a shot. The Secret Service officer discharged his weapon and hit the person in the torso. Officers immediately offered first aid to the victim, and DC Fire and EMS were called to the scene. Both the suspect and the cop were taken to the nearest hospital.

US Secret Service took to its Twitter and released a statement. Here is the tweet.