Secret Service shoots man who fired gun near White House

Myles Miller and Yash Roy, Bloomberg News on May 23, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — A man was shot by U.S. Secret Service agents near the White House on Saturday after he opened fire with a handgun, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The man had been pacing along the street for some time before he approached a Secret Service police checkpoint, pulled a pistol from his bag and began firing indiscriminately at the checkpoint, said the person, who was granted anonymity to describe a sensitive investigation.

Secret Service police officers returned fire, striking the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died, the person said.

A bystander was also struck during the shooting. It wasn’t clear whether the bystander was hit by the suspect’s initial gunfire or in the exchange that followed.

The suspect was previously known to the Secret Service, according to the person. He had a previous encounter with authorities near the White House in July 2025, when he was arrested for unlawful entry after walking into a restricted area at a pedestrian checkpoint, according to court records.

He had been involuntarily committed by the Secret Service weeks earlier, in June 2025, after obstructing a vehicle entrance to the White House complex, the records show.

The shooting occurred near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, outside the White House complex.

Reporters were hustled off the White House lawn and into the building as the campus was briefly locked down.

More than two hours before the incident, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung posted that President Donald Trump was in the executive mansion. Trump was the only Secret Service protectee at the White House at the time of the shooting, the person said.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel posted on X that his agency is also assisting the Secret Service.

Saturday’s incident comes a little under a month after federal agents arrested a man at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for attempting to assassinate Trump. The suspect attempted to charge through a security checkpoint with firearms.