Video: Journalists Duck For Cover As Gunman Opens Fire Outside White House

Eyes wide from shock, journalist Selina Wang took a few seconds to compose herself and then duck for cover as shots rang out at a White House security checkpoint on Sunday. She was in the middle of shooting a video inside the premises when the incident was reported.

ABC News' Wang was among the many reporters on the premises at the time of the shooting outside, following which Secret Service shot the suspect. "It sounded like dozens of gunshots," she said on X.

I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots. It sounded like dozens of gunshots. We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now. pic.twitter.com/iqdQwh4soq

— Selina Wang (@selinawangtv) May 23, 2026

Confused by the commotion, NBC News' Julie Tirskin asked, "What is that?" Her cameraperson kept rolling. Another reporter on the White House North Lawn was talking about prices, when he heard the shots. He removed the audio wire on him and took cover.

NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Julie Tsirkin was preparing to report from the White House when multiple shots could be heard being fired nearby. pic.twitter.com/d8POlm5QUF

— NBC10 Boston (@NBC10Boston) May 23, 2026

All journalists in the lawn were ordered to run and shelter in the press briefing room.

New footage of the shooting near the White House pic.twitter.com/aTDtFD2onU

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) May 23, 2026

A gunman opened fire near the White House on Saturday 6 pm local time, with US Secret Service agents killing the assailant in a shoot-out during which a bystander was also struck, authorities said. He pulled "a weapon from his bag and began firing."

President Donald Trump was in the White House at the time but was not impacted by the incident, Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.

We heard probably 20 to 25 what sounded like fireworks, but they're gunshots, and then everyone started running," Canadian tourist Reid Adrian told AFP.

The shooting comes a month after Trump faced his third alleged assassination attempt at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner at a Washington hotel, an event he was attending for the first time during both his Presidential terms. During the April 25 incident, an armed man ran past a security checkpoint in a hotel where Trump was the gala. He was intercepted by the Secret Service and taken into custody.

In July 2024, Trump was targeted during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A gunman killed an audience member and lightly wounding the then-candidate in the ear.

A few months later, another armed man was arrested on a West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.

Trump has cited the various alleged attempts on his life to push for a ballroom at the White House, tearing down the East Wing after taking office again last year. The $400 million project currently under construction will feature, according to the New York real estate magnate, six floors below the highly secure "drone-proof" ballroom, including an underground military hospital.