By Jana Winter
WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) – A gunman who fired at a White House checkpoint was shot by officers and died after being taken to the hospital on Saturday evening, the Secret Service said.
The man approached the checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, pulled a gun out of his bag and started shooting at officers, according to a Secret Service statement sent to Reuters. Officers returned fire and shot the suspect, the agency said.
A bystander was struck by gunfire, the statement said, but it did not make clear how badly the person was hurt. Another Secret Service statement, cited by multiple news outlets, said it was not clear whether the bystander was hit when the gunman began shooting or during the subsequent exchange of gunfire.
The shooting suspect was identified as an emotionally disturbed person, a law enforcement official told Reuters, adding that a “stay-away order” had been issued to him previously.
No law enforcement personnel were injured, the Secret Service said, adding that President Donald Trump was at the White House during the incident.
The shooting comes nearly a month after a gunman fired shots inside the hotel hosting the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, prompting Trump and other officials to be rushed out.
(Reporting by Jana Winter and Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Writing by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Sergio Non and David Gregorio)
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