An armed man who was found near the White House Friday was shot by US Secret Service after he refused orders to drop his firearm.
The as at yet unidentified gunman was spotted at a security checkpoint on E Street near the White House, brandishing a firearm. Despite multiple orders to stop and drop the weapon, he refused, leading to being shot by a Secret Service agent.
He was detained afterwards.
“Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers gave numerous verbal commands for the subject to stop and drop the firearm,” the security agencies said in a joint statement.
“When the subject failed to comply with the verbal commands, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody
“At this time, based on a preliminary investigation, there is no known nexus to terrorism.” it added.
The White House was placed into lockdown after the incident, although President Barack Obama was not present at the time. Vice President Joe Biden was, and he was taken to a ‘secure area’ whilst the incident transpired.