Armed man shot at by US Secret Service, White House under lockdown for 1 hour
A man, who brandished a gun and refused orders to stop, by US Secret Service agents outside the White House, was shot at and critically injured even as the official residence of the American President was put on lockdown for over an hour.
By : migrator
Update: 2016-05-21 16:58 GMT
Washington
The incident took place at around 3.06 pm (local time) on Friday when an “man carrying a firearm, approached an outer perimeter checkpoint accessible to the general public” on E Street near the White House, the Secret Service said.
The Secret Service agents on duty gave numerous verbal commands for the accused to stop and drop the firearm.
“When he failed to comply, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody,” said David A Iacovetti, deputy assistant director office of government and public affairs, United States Secret Service.
The man has been admitted to a nearby hospital with critical injuries, officials said.
As a precautionary measure following the incident, the White House was immediately put under lockdown, with doors locked and agents in full tactical gear and armed with automatic and heavy-caliber weapons deployed around the complex and Lafayette Square to the north.
President Barack Obama was not present on the premises at the time of the incident as he had gone to play golf at Andrews Airforce Base.
Vice President Joe Biden was in the complex and the Secret Service agents rushed to him for additional security. Based on preliminary investigation, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies said the shooting incident has no known nexus to terrorism.
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