The Secret Service on Saturday afternoon responded to reports of a man who “allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound” along the White House’s north lawn fence.
The Secret Service said that medics had been called to respond to the male victim, but he was declared dead at the scene.
“The subject approached the vicinity of the North White House fence line and removed a concealed handgun and fired several rounds, none of which appear at this time to have been directed towards the White House,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
The Secret Service said they had identified the shooter but were withholding his name until they could notify his next of kin. The Metropolitan Police Department will lead an investigation into the shooting with the support of the Secret Service.
Final Update: Secret Service can confirm that no member of the First Family was at the @WhiteHouse during today’s incident outside the fence line.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 3, 2018
President Donald Trump was not at The White House but instead was at Mar-a-Lago in Florida at the time of the incident. The White House Press said that Trump had been briefed on the situation.
In May of 2016, and armed Pennsylvania man was shot in the chest by a Secret Service agent as the man approached a White House guard booth. The man was sentenced to prison but was allowed to serve his time at a mental hospital.
