WASHINGTON — The White House was briefly put on lockdown after the Secret Service wounded an armed man in an exchange of gunfire near the Washington Monument on Monday, officials said.
The Secret Service said that the person, whose identity has not been released, was shot at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET shortly after Vice President JD Vance passed by the area in a motorcade, The Washington Post reported.
A bullet also grazed a 15-year-old boy in an area filled with pedestrians, according to The New York Times.
During a news conference, Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said plainclothes agents followed the man briefly and contacted uniformed officers.
U.S. Secret Service personnel are on the scene of an officer-involved shooting at 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C. One individual was shot by law enforcement; their condition is currently unknown. Please avoid the area as emergency crews are responding. pic.twitter.com/LNUTL2F3gM
— U.S. Secret Service Office of Communications (@SecretSvcSpox) May 4, 2026
“Our plainclothes officers and agents that consistently patrol the outer perimeter of the White House complex identified a suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm,” Quinn said.
The man attempted to flee, and Quinn said he fired at the officers, who returned fire.
The man was taken to an area hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, the Times reported. There was no indication that the man was targeting anyone in the executive complex, according to an email to Congress from Chris McDonald, a congressional affairs official with the Secret Service.
“President (Donald) Trump was not in any danger, and there is currently no known nexus between the incident and the White House,” McDonald wrote.
“We’re patrolling this area, and every site we do, 24/7, hardcore,” Quinn told reporters. “Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don’t know, but we will find out.”
Quinn could not confirm that the teen, who was also taken to an area hospital, was struck by shots from the suspect’s weapon, The Associated Press reported.
“We’ll let the doctors figure that out,” he told reporters, adding that “investigators believe he was struck by the suspect.”
Breaking News: Secret Service agents exchanged gunfire with a man near the Washington Monument, hitting a bystander, officials said. https://t.co/dN6EsqMsRG
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 4, 2026
No law enforcement officials were injured.
The president was holding an event at the White House around the time of the shooting, the Times reported. The Secret Service ordered reporters who were on the North Lawn of the White House to go into the press briefing room.
© 2026 Cox Media Group
