A shooting just two kilometers from the White House took place on the afternoon of Monday 4 May, near the Washington Monument. The alarm went off around 3.30pm (local time), shortly after the vice president passed by JD Vance in procession in the area. According to reports from Secret Serviceplainclothes officers engaged in surveillance of the area identified an armed man believed to be suspicious. When uniformed officers approached, the suspect attempted to flee on foot and began shooting. This led to a firefight with the police, during which the man was shot by the officers and subsequently taken to hospital.
A child injured in the shooting
During the shooting, a child was injured, hit by bullets fired by the attacker: his condition, according to the authorities, is not serious. It is not yet clear what the man’s objective was or whether he intended to target institutional figures.
As a precaution, part of the White House complex was evacuated and the journalists present were returned to the press room. Around 3.45pm some media workers were also removed from the north lawn of the building. Witnesses present in the area reported hearing five or six gunshots, followed by a massive deployment of law enforcement.
Washington police started investigations and ordered the closure of surrounding roads for several hours, inviting citizens to avoid the area. At the time of the accident, Pres Donald Trump he was engaged in an official event with entrepreneurs.
The episode takes place in a context of growing tension in the US capital: just a week ago the attack occurred at the Hilton hotel in Washington, during the annual White House correspondents’ dinner, which Trump himself was attending.
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