United States President, Donald Trump, was abruptly taken away from a scheduled press conference this morning after a shooting occurred outside the White House.
Donald Trump was only seconds into his regular COVID-19 briefing when a US Secret Service agent abruptly cut the President off and escorted him into another room.
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The reporters who were in the room on Monday afternoon (Tuesday morning AEST), were subsequently locked inside. The journalists in the room had no idea why the President cut his press conference short.
After leaving for a few minutes, Trump reappeared in the press briefing room to announce that someone had just been shot outside the White House by a US Secret Service agent. The person who was shot “near the edge of the White House grounds” was armed and taken to the Oval Office while “law enforcement” dealt with the situation. It is unclear whether the shooter was a man or a woman at this stage. No one else was injured.
“Sorry for that,” Trump said, “There was a shooting outside of the White House. Seems to be very much under control.”
Donald Trump continued, “It seems to be very well under control … But there was an actual shooting, and somebody has been taken to the hospital. I don’t know the condition of the person… Seems that the person was shot by Secret Service. “
Trump subsequently thanked the US Secret Service for their work and said he felt safe enough to return back to the COVID-19 focussed briefing.
The shooting took place near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, which is only a few blocks away from the White House, according to two anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation (via to the Associated Press).
After the eruption of Black Lives Matter protests, new fences have been put up around the White House building and the number of law enforcement officers have increased.
The situation is still unfolding, more to come.
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