Washington, March 4 (PTI): A white man fatally shot himself in the head on the crowded pedestrian directly in front of the White House, the Secret Service said today, sparking panic and sending the parts of the US capital into lockdown.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were in Florida at the time of the incident which took place yesterday when the man, standing in a crowd of more than 100 people near the White House, shot himself.
The man approached the fence line, removed a concealed handgun and fired several rounds, none of which appear to have been aimed at the White House, a Secret Service spokesperson said.
The shooter shot his phone before shooting himself. No suicide note was found, but incoherent sentences were found in a book recovered on the scene, CNN reported.
“None of these shots appear to have been directed towards the White House,” the Secret Service said.
The Secret Service also tweeted that pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the White House was affected by the incident.
No other persons were injured.
The Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department is the lead investigative organisation for this shooting, supported by the Secret Service Washington Field Office and other law enforcement organisations.
