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LANGEN
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SAT · 2026-05-23 · 23:53 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0524-78741
News/Gunman who opened fire near White House /Secret Service shoots person near White House, bystander als…
NSR-2026-0524-78741News Report·EN·National Security

Secret Service shoots person near White House, bystander also shot, law enforcement official says

The U.S. Secret Service shot an individual near the White House on Saturday, and a bystander was also struck by gunfire.

By  DARLENE SUPERVILLE and ALANNA DURKIN RICHERAssociated Press (AP)Filed 2026-05-23 · 23:53 GMTLean · CenterRead · 5 min
Secret Service shoots person near White House, bystander also shot, law enforcement official says
Associated Press (AP)FIG 01
Reading time
5min
Word count
1 138words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
7entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01

Briefing Summary

AI-generated
NEWSAR · AI

The U.S. Secret Service shot an individual near the White House on Saturday, and a bystander was also struck by gunfire. Both individuals were reported to be in critical condition. Journalists at the White House heard multiple gunshots and were instructed to take shelter. The Secret Service confirmed awareness of reports of shots fired in the vicinity and stated they were working to corroborate the information. The FBI also confirmed officers were responding to the incident. President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time. This event follows two recent incidents near the White House involving shootings and law enforcement responses.

Confidence 0.90Sources 1Claims 4Entities 7
§ 02

Article analysis

Model · rule-based
Framing
National Security
Conflict
Tone
Mixed Tone
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.80 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
1
Limited
FewMany
§ 03

Key claims

4 extracted
01

Evidence markers were seen at a crime scene after reports of shots fired.

factual
Confidence
1.00
02

Streets around the White House were blocked by police and Secret Service.

factual
Confidence
1.00
03

A bystander was also shot.

factuallaw enforcement official
Confidence
0.90
04

Secret Service shot a person near the White House.

factuallaw enforcement official
Confidence
0.90
§ 04

Full report

5 min read · 1 138 words
Secret Service shoots person near White House, bystander also shot, law enforcement official says 1 of 5 | Police and members of the Secret Service block streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 2 of 5 | Police and members of the Secret Service stand near an EMS truck after blocking streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 3 of 5 | Evidence markers are seen on a crime scene after police responded to reports of shots fired near the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 4 of 5 | U.S. Secret Service Police observe from the roof of the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington, after reports of shots fired near the White House. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) 5 of 5 | Police and members of the Secret Service block streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 1 of 5 | Police and members of the Secret Service block streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 1 of 5 Police and members of the Secret Service block streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Police and members of the Secret Service stand near an EMS truck after blocking streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 2 of 5 Police and members of the Secret Service stand near an EMS truck after blocking streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | Evidence markers are seen on a crime scene after police responded to reports of shots fired near the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 3 of 5 Evidence markers are seen on a crime scene after police responded to reports of shots fired near the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | U.S. Secret Service Police observe from the roof of the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington, after reports of shots fired near the White House. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) 4 of 5 U.S. Secret Service Police observe from the roof of the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington, after reports of shots fired near the White House. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | Police and members of the Secret Service block streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 5 of 5 Police and members of the Secret Service block streets around the White House, Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Washington (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service shot a person near the White House on Saturday, and a bystander also was shot, a law enforcement official said. Both individuals were said to be in critical condition, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. Journalists working at the White House on Saturday reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room. On X, the Secret Service said it was “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” — one block from the White House — and was “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground.” It said it will have an update shortly.In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said officers were responding to shots fired and said he would “update the public as we’re able.” President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time. In a post shared on X, Selina Wang, the senior White House correspondent for ABC News, shared dramatic video of the moment she said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and ducked for cover. Writing that she had been performing a task that reporters at the White House do day in and day out — filming themselves on a cellphone, for a social media post — Wang’s video shows her speaking for a few seconds about Trump’s statements earlier Saturday about a potential Iran deal. 4 MIN READ 2 MIN READ 2 MIN READ As the sounds of gunfire are heard in the background, Wang’s eyes grow wider, and she ducks down in the media tent, which is among those situated in a line along the White House driveway where broadcasters film their reports. On X, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times as of Saturday evening, and viewed at least 3 million times. The Metropolitan Police Department said on its X Account that the Secret Service was working the scene and cautioned people to avoid. The scene is near where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November. U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds. Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that incident.The gunfire Saturday comes nearly a month after what law enforcement authorities said was an attempted assassination of the president on April 25 as he attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at a Washington hotel. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.Following that scare, Secret Service officers shot a suspect they said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument, also near the White House. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 4 shooting. A teenage bystander was wounded in that incident.___Associated Press photojournalists Jose Luis Magana and Alex Brandon and AP writers Gary Fields, Meg Kinnard and Matthew Daly contributed to this report. Superville covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a special emphasis on first ladies and first families. Richer covers the Justice Department and federal courts. She joined The AP in 2013 and is based in Washington.
§ 05

Entities

7 identified
§ 06

Keywords & salience

9 terms
secret service
1.00
white house
1.00
shots fired
0.90
law enforcement
0.80
shooting incident
0.70
crime scene
0.70
bystander
0.60
police response
0.50
washington d.c.
0.40
§ 07

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