Man and Secret Service Agent taken to hospital after incident at Donald Trump press conference: What we know

Sylvie Claire / August 12, 2020

A wind of concern briefly blew over Donald Trump's daily press conference on Monday, when the President of the United States was swiftly escorted from his desk and taken to safety by his bodyguards following a incident outside the White House.

A "man" and a "Secret Service agent" were transported to a nearby hospital, said the Secret Service, a federal agency responsible in particular for the protection of the president.

"The police shot someone," Donald Trump said when he returned to reporters after a few minutes of hiatus. "It was outside" the White House fence, he said.

When asked if this suspect was armed, the President replied: From what I understand, yes.

The Secret Service can confirm that an agent used his weapon at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, ”a junction very close to the White House, tweeted this elite police force responsible for the protection of high American personalities.

A "man" and a "Secret Service agent" were transported to a nearby hospital, the federal agency added, assuring that "at no time" had the White House complex been violated.

A bicycle belonging to a member of the Secret Service was on the ground surrounded by police lines on a sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, an AFP reporter found.

Police cordoned off a large perimeter around the White House. Police cars were parked at the scene and armed police patrolled Lafayette Square park in front of the White House, AFP reporters say