The Secret Service is on heightened alert following a shooting that took place early Sunday morning near a park situated across from the White House, where President Trump was spending the weekend.
Fortunately, no injuries resulted from the incident, which unfolded near Lafayette Park just north of the White House. As of now, the individual responsible for the gunfire remains at large, according to authorities.
“The Secret Service Police, alongside the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police, are actively on the lookout for a potential vehicle and a person of interest. Our investigation is ongoing,” the agency stated.
“While the White House continues its normal operations, a heightened security posture has been implemented.”
The Secret Service has not disclosed any details about the vehicle or person of interest, and the motives and circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear. The incident occurred shortly after midnight.
Lafayette Park has been cordoned off for several weeks due to ongoing renovation work.
Trump remained at the White House this weekend. On Sunday, his motorcade did a tour around Memorial Circle, where he intends to build an “Independence Arch,” and he went to Trump National Golf Club in Virginia.
The only major event on his schedule Sunday is a private family Easter dinner at the White House.
The shooting near the White House is just the latest security scare in recent weeks. Last weekend, authorities scrambled an F-16 fighter jet at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, where Trump has his Mar-a-Lago residence, after losing contact with an aircraft in the area.
Air Force One was stationed at the airport at the time of the incident, though Trump was away on his golf course. Neither the president nor the presidential plane was in danger, the White House and Secret Service said.
Trump has survived multiple assassination attempts, including at the July 13, 2024, Butler, Pa., rally where a bullet came within a quarter inch of killing him. Later that year, Ryan Routh was detained after setting up a sniper’s nest at Trump International Golf Club.
Routh had been stationed about 400 yards from Trump before Secret Service spotted him and opened fire.
