Law enforcement authorities are responding to shots that were fired near the White House grounds, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Journalists working there Saturday reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room, where U.S. Secret Service officers prevented them from leaving.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries.
We are aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW and are working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
— U.S. Secret Service Office of Communications (@SecretSvcSpox) May 23, 2026
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.
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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.
