Washington: A person who approached a White House security checkpoint and opened fire at law enforcement officers has died after being shot and taken to hospital, US federal officials said.

The US Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that the individual arrived at a checkpoint shortly after 6 pm ET and “removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers”.

Officers returned fire, striking the suspect, who was later transported to a nearby hospital where he died, the agency said.

A bystander was also hit, though officials said it was not immediately clear whether the person was struck by the suspect’s initial gunfire or by shots fired by officers during the exchange. No Secret Service personnel were injured. The agency also said President Donald Trump, who was inside the White House at the time, was not “impacted.”

Earlier, the Secret Service posted on X that it was “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” and was “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground”.

Journalists working at the White House reported hearing multiple gunshots and were instructed to take shelter inside the press briefing room. Crime scene tape was later seen stretching across pavements near the complex, while officers placed dozens of orange evidence markers across the area. Emergency medical supplies, including gloves and response kits, were also visible at the scene.

ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang, posting on X, shared video of the incident and said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” while filming a routine report outside the White House complex. Her footage shows her reacting to the gunfire and ducking for cover inside the media tent.

The Metropolitan Police Department said on X that Secret Service personnel were handling the scene and urged the public to avoid the area.

The incident occurred near the location of a previous attack on two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November. In that case, US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries, while Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged.

The latest shooting also comes weeks after what authorities described as an attempted assassination of President Trump on April 25 during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to kill the president and remains in federal custody.

Following that incident, Secret Service officers also shot a suspect they said fired at them near the Washington Monument. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in connection with that May 4 shooting, in which a teenage bystander was injured. (AP)