Man fires several rounds near White House before killing himself, Secret Service says

Law enforcement officers at Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, take up positions as they close the area to pedestrian traffic, Saturday, March 3, 2018. The Secret Service says a man shot himself outside the White House, and medical personnel are on the scene. President Donald Trump is not at the White House, he's in Florida, but is set to return later Saturday. The agency says in a Twitter post that there are no other reported injuries related to the incident. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

Law enforcement officers at Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, take up positions as they close the area to pedestrian traffic, Saturday, March 3, 2018. The Secret Service says a man shot himself outside the White House, and medical personnel are on the scene. President Donald Trump is not at the White House, he's in Florida, but is set to return later Saturday. The agency says in a Twitter post that there are no other reported injuries related to the incident. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

Updated at 3:40 p.m. ET

Shortly before noon Saturday, a man approached the north fence around the White House, removed a concealed handgun and fired several rounds, according to a Secret Service statement. None of those rounds appeared to have been aimed at the White House, the agency said.

The man then fatally shot himself in the head, the Secret Service said.

Nobody else was injured during the incident, according to authorities.

The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department tweeted a couple of hours later that the man had died.

It happened in an area between the Lafayette Square park and the White House that is popular among pedestrians who use it as a cut-through or as a place to take pictures or protest.

Witnesses told The Washington Post that a crowd of more than 100 was in the area at the time and that people fled after the shots were fired.

The White House was placed on lockdown, and the surrounding area was cordoned off.

President Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., at the time of the incident.

“We’re aware of the incident,” said White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley from Mar-a-Lago. “The president has been briefed.”

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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