Press Corps were evacuated from the White House
Noman Sabit: Members of the Press Corps were evacuated from the White House on Monday after shots reportedly rang out a few blocks away from the executive residence.
Megan Cassella of CNBC reported that they were evacuated by the Secret Service around 4:00 p.m. "U.S. Secret Service just evacuated us from our camera position at the White House north lawn," she wrote in a post on X. "We’re now gathering in the briefing room. No indication as to what’s going on," she added. "U.S. Secret Service personnel are on the scene of an officer-involved shooting at 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C.," the agency said in a statement on X. It comes after Trump issued a damning warning after losing patience. "One individual was shot by law enforcement; their condition is currently unknown," they added. "Please avoid the area as emergency crews are responding."
The lockdown at the White House came mere minutes before the president spoke at a small business summit in the East Room of the building. According to Cassella, the press was escorted to the briefing room, where they were held by the agents. "We’ve been cleared from the briefing room, back to our camera spot," Cassella said in a follow-up post.
"No confirmation as of now as to what the threat was," she added. "Agents are still out." Another person reported that a motorcade had been driving on Independence Avenue when four shots rang out. "Not known which side blasted. I was at the corner when it happened."
The shots outside of the White House came a week after an attempted assassination of the president at the White House Correspondents' dinner shocked the country. Cole Allen, 31, stormed the security perimeter at the Washington Hilton Hotel where the dinner was taking place. Allen opened fire before he was tackled and arrested. A Secret Service agent was shot in his protective vest, but wasn't seriously injured.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche believes Trump and his Cabinet members were the intended targets of the attack. Concerns arose because the incident occurred close to the arrival of the King and Queen. In a manifesto sent to his family, Allen called himself the "Friendly Federal Assassin." in the letter, Allen indicated that he was determined to kill Trump administration officials, The Washington Post reported.
Allen allegedly said that he planned to use buckshot instead of slugs, "In order to minimize casualties. He is said to have added, "I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls)," before confirming that he would be willing to kill everyone present, writes the NYP. An official said the disturbed note, sent approximately 10 minutes before the shooting, outlined his "targets" as including "Administration officials (not including [FBI Director Kash] Patel)... prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest."
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