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The Metropolitan Police Department is responding to reports of shots fired near the White House North Lawn, with White House reporters being placed on lockdown in the press briefing room.
What happened?
President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the shooting, which was first reported on by early Saturday morning, and would not have been directly impacted by the incident. According to the BBC, he is scheduled to soon return to Washington.
The Secret Service confirmed that medical personnel was attending to a male victim; so far, no one else has been injured in the incident.
Geoff Bennett, a White House correspondent for NBC News, confirmed that journalists were “sheltering” in the press briefing room.
UPDATE: Fox 31 confirmed that the shooter shot himself in front of the White House, suggesting that the shooter and male victim mentioned above were one in the same, although this is unconfirmed:
“[There were] reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gun shot wound along the north fence line of [the] White House.”
At this time, it is believed that the male victim has been taken to a local hospital for treatment; at this time, his current condition is unknown to the public.
Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley also released the following statement:
“We are aware of the incident. The President has been briefed. I refer you to the Secret Service for any more information.”
UPDATE: USA Today has confirmed that the male victim had died from his wounds in the following statement from police:
“The adult male who reportedly shot himself has been declared dead. His body remained on scene. We’re working to notify next of kin.”
What is the U.S. Secret Service saying?
On their official Twitter account, the United States Secret Service has been giving updates to the story. Some of the following updates can be read below:
“UPDATE: No other reported injuries related to the incident at @WhiteHouse.”
“UPDATE: Pedestrian and Vehicular traffic around the @WhiteHouse is being impacted due to the incident.”
“UPDATE: Medical Personnel are responding to the male victim.”
As this story is developing, more information will be updated as made available.