White House on lockdown after shots fired

WASHINGTON DC: The White House was placed on lockdown and the surrounding area cordoned off by emergency personnel Saturday after an apparent gunshot was heard.

The US Secret Service said on Twitter that it was responding "to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound along the north fence line of @White House."

 

BREAKING: Secret Service personnel are responding to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gun shot wound along the north fence line of @WhiteHouse.

— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 3, 2018

 

It said medical personnel were "responding to the male victim," but that there were "no other reported injuries."



The victim's identity was not immediately known.

UPDATE: Medical Personnel are responding to the male victim.

— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 3, 2018

President Donald Trump was not at the White House at the time. He is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

 

UPDATE: No other reported injuries related to the incident at @WhiteHouse.

— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 3, 2018

Reporters tweeting from the White House briefing room said they had been told to shelter in place. Police cars and ambulances swarmed to the area minutes after the incident.



Disturbances outside the White House are not rare. On 23 February, a woman was arrested after crashing her vehicle into a security barrier near the presidential residence.

And there have been repeated attempts to jump over fences around the building.