WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service says a suspect who opened fire Monday on the National Mall did so after being confronted by officers.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn said officers returned fire. A bystander was struck by the suspect, Quinn said.
Quinn said the motorcade of Vice President JD Vance transited through the area not long before the shooting, but there was no indication it was the target.
The incident happened Monday afternoon around 15th Street and Independence Avenue near the Washington Monument.
The Secret Service encouraged people to avoid the area as emergency crews responded to the shooting not far from the White House, where President Donald Trump was holding a small business event.
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The White House was briefly locked down as authorities investigated the incident. The Secret Service ushered journalists who were outside into the briefing room, and Trump continued his event without interruption.
Vito Maggiolo, spokesman for the D.C. Fire and EMS Department, said emergency units transported an adult male to the hospital and were treating what appeared to be a teenage male for minor injuries. He referred other questions to the police department.
The incident drew a large police presence, coming just over a week after a gunman tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives. Cole Tomas Allen has been charged in that incident, in which a Secret Service officer was wounded.
