President Donald Trump is asked to leave the James Brady Press Briefing Room by a member of the U.S. Secret Service during a news conference at the White House, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.
US President Donald Trump was abruptly stopped while he was addressing a press briefing at the White House Monday afternoon. He was immediately escorted out after a shooting outside the fence surrounding the complex.
A video shows Trump addressing the coronavirus briefing, and moments later, he was disrupted when his officials whispered something into his ears. And within seconds, he was rushed out of the briefing room without any explanation. He was escorted by a U.S. Secret Service agent to the Oval Office. Meanwhile, the White House was placed on lockdown.
It was only later that the press was informed of the shooting incident. "There was an actual shooting and somebody's been taken to the hospital," Trump said. The president said the shots were fired by law enforcement, saying he believed the individual who was shot was armed. "It was the suspect who was shot," Trump said.
The shooting incident took place near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, just blocks from the White House.
The shooting took place near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue just blocks from the White House, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Law enforcement officials were still trying to determine the suspect’s motive.
President Donald Trump returns to a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room after he briefly left because of a security incident outside the fence of the White House, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Washington. 
The suspect was transferred to a local hospital, and the District of Columbia fire department said the man suffered serious or possibly critical injuries. Authorities were investigating whether the individual has a history of mental illness.
Trump praised the work of Secret Service personnel for their work in keeping him safe. Asked if he was shaken by the incident, Trump asked reporters: “I don’t know. Do I seem rattled?”
On the officer involved in shooting, "The White House Complex was not breached during the incident and no Secret Service protectees were ever in danger."
In a statement, the US Secret Service said the White House Complex was not breached during the incident and no Secret Service protectees were ever in danger.
FULL STATEMENT:
"At approximately 5.53 pm today, a 51-year-old male approached a U.S. Secret Service Uninformed Division officer who was standing at his post on the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. near the White House Complex. The suspect approached the officer and told the officer he had a weapon. The suspect then turned around, ran aggressively towards the officer, and in a drawing motion, withdrew an object from his clothing. He then crouched into a shooter's stance as if about to fire a weapon. The Secret Service officer discharged his weapon striking the individual in the torso. Officers immediately rendered first aid to the suspect and D.C. Fire and EMS were called to the scene. Both the suspect and the officer were transported to local hospitals. The White House Complex was not breached during the incident and no Secret Service protectees were ever in danger. The Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility will be conducting an internal review of the officer's actions. The Metropolitan Police Department was contacted to conduct an investigation."
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