A gunman killed one person and wounded four others in Washington, D.C., Thursday morning, prompting a major police response about a mile from the White House. The shooting came three days after two separate incidents near Lafayette Park prompted a brief White House lockdown. Authorities have not established a link between the events.
Officers responded shortly before 8 a.m. to gunfire near 15th and P streets NW in the Logan Circle neighborhood. Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said police arrived within 30 seconds and found a gunshot victim. Investigators believe the attack began inside a VIDA Fitness gym, per Reuters.
Carroll said one of the four surviving victims suffered critical injuries and the other three suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect, a member of the gym, barricaded himself in a seventh-floor apartment and fired at police, Carroll told reporters, reported The Guardian.
Police negotiators spoke with the suspect for about an hour before officers heard another gunshot and lost contact with him. Officers entered the apartment and found him with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Carroll did not confirm the suspect’s condition at the briefing.
Investigators are examining a dispute involving the suspect and the building’s homeowners association, but they have not established a motive. The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted local authorities, and nearby schools restricted access, per AP. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said officials informed the White House of the shooting.
Two Earlier White House Security Incidents
On Monday, November 9, Secret Service Police and National Guard personnel responded to a vehicle crash near 16th and H streets NW, on the north side of Lafayette Park. The Secret Service said the driver resisted law enforcement before officers arrested him, per Fox 5. Around the same time, officers arrested a second person who jumped a barricade near the park’s northwest corner.
Authorities closed nearby streets and examined the vehicle for explosives as a precaution. President Donald Trump was inside the White House when officials briefly restricted access, Reuters confirmed. The Secret Service said Monday that it was investigating both incidents. Officials did not establish whether the two arrests involved a common motive.
Earlier this year, Secret Service Police fatally wounded a gunman who opened fire near a White House checkpoint on May 23, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
Thursday’s shooting occurred outside the presidential compound. Police have not publicly identified the suspect or the victim who died, and investigators have not established the full sequence of the attack or any connection to Monday’s arrests.
This is a developing story.
