Here's Why Trump Was Rushed From the Briefing Room

Secret Service officer shoots threatening man near White House
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 11, 2020 3:28 AM CDT
Here's Why Trump Was Rushed From Briefing Room
President Trump leaves a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A uniformed Secret Service officer shot and wounded a man during a confrontation near the White House that led to President Trump being abruptly escorted out of a briefing room during a televised news conference Monday, authorities said. The White House complex was not breached and no one under Secret Service protection was in danger, said Tom Sullivan, chief of the Secret Service Uniformed Division. The name of the man, 51, and his condition were not released by Sullivan, the AP reports. The District of Columbia fire department said the man suffered serious or possibly critical injuries. Sullivan said the man had approached the officer, claimed he was armed, moved aggressively toward the officer, and appeared ready to fire before the officer shot him once. Sullivan did not address whether the man had indeed been armed.

Law enforcement officials were trying to determine a motive and authorities were investigating whether the man had a history of mental illness. Trump had just begun a coronavirus briefing when a Secret Service agent escorted him from the briefing room. The president returned minutes later, saying there had been a “shooting” outside the White House that was “under control.” Trump said the agent had escorted him to the Oval Office. The White House was placed on lockdown following the incident. Both the suspect and the officer were taken to the hospital. An internal review of the shooting by the Secret Service was underway, and the Metropolitan Police Department was also investigating, a standard protocol. At the White House, Trump praised 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?”

(More President Trump stories.)

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