Second shooting near White House in 9 days: Secret Service opens fire at Washington Monument; teen caught in crossfire

US Secret Service agents shot and wounded an armed man near the Washington Monument on Monday afternoon, in an incident that left a teenage bystander injured and raised fresh questions about security in the heart of the American capital.

Gunfire Erupts Near White House Just Weeks After Correspondents' Dinner Shooting

A burst of gunfire erupted close to the Washington Monument on Monday, less than two weeks after a separate armed incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, heightening concern about the security environment surrounding the US executive complex.

The latest episode unfolded in an area heavily frequented by tourists and commuters, and came shortly before a motorcade carrying US Vice President JD Vance passed through the same stretch of road.

No law enforcement personnel were injured. The suspect was hospitalised with multiple gunshot wounds, and a 15-year-old boy caught in the crossfire was taken to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.

What Happened Near the Washington Monument on Monday

Plainclothes officers conducting exterior patrols around the White House identified a suspicious individual near the Washington Monument at approximately 3:30 pm EDT. Secret Service deputy director Matt Quinn, speaking at a press conference near the scene, said the man had a "visual print" of a firearm on his person.

When uniformed Secret Service officers moved to approach the suspect, he fled. Quinn said the suspect then opened fire on the agents, who returned fire and struck him. The man was subsequently apprehended and transported to the hospital. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

A 15-year-old boy in the vicinity was also shot. Quinn told reporters that investigators believe the teenager was struck by the gunman rather than by agents. "Everything I've seen leads me and the investigators to believe he was struck by the suspect," Quinn said. He later appeared to qualify that statement when pressed. "We'll let the doctors figure that out," he said.

Was US President Donald Trump or Vice President J D Vance in Danger?

Neither the US President Donald Trump nor Vance was in immediate danger, officials said. Trump was holding an event at the White House at the time of the shooting. The Secret Service directed journalists on the North Lawn into the press briefing room as a precautionary measure.

Vance's motorcade had passed through the area shortly before the confrontation. Quinn confirmed the timing, but it was clear that investigators do not believe the suspect approached or threatened the motorcade. The suspect was not on White House grounds, though Quinn acknowledged he was "not far at all."

Chris McDonald, a congressional affairs official with the Secret Service, wrote in an email to Congress following the episode: "President Trump was not in any danger, and there is currently no known nexus between the incident and the White House."

Is This Incident Linked to the White House Correspondents' Dinner Shooting?

The question of whether Monday's shooting is connected to the attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on 25 April was put directly to Quinn. He declined to draw any connection. "I can't say. I'm not going to guess on that," he said.

The Correspondents' Dinner incident took place at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where a gunman attempted to breach a security checkpoint and exchanged fire with law enforcement. Video footage released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation suggests the suspect fired at a Secret Service agent before officers returned fire. The gunman was not struck but was arrested immediately.

He has since been charged with attempting to assassinate the president, with prosecutors alleging he was targeting members of the Trump administration.

Monday's episode began at approximately 3:30 pm near the intersection of 15th Street Southwest and Independence Avenue. That is nine days after the Correspondents' Dinner attack.

Washington Locked Down as Traffic and Tourists Were Caught in Chaos

The immediate aftermath of the shooting brought significant disruption to central Washington, DC. The Metropolitan Police Department closed off a wide stretch of streets east of the Washington Monument for several hours, snarling traffic and blocking access to major highway bridges connecting the District of Columbia with Northern Virginia across the Potomac River.

Dozens of law enforcement officers, alongside a substantial number of National Guard members in green uniforms, flooded the area. Hundreds of National Guard personnel remain stationed in Washington following their deployment in August, after the Trump administration assumed oversight of the city's police department.

The police department confirmed in a social media post that its officers were on the scene and that road closures would remain in effect for several hours. Quinn confirmed that the Metropolitan Police Department was investigating the incident.

The disruption played out on what officials described as a clear spring afternoon, with large numbers of tourists in the area around the monument at the time of the shooting.