WASHINGTON, May 5. /TASS/. At least two people were injured on Monday in a shooting incident near the White House, said Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn.

According to him, at about 10:30 p.m. Moscow time (7:30 p.m. GMT), plainclothes Secret Service officers noticed a firearm on one of the passers-by on the National Mall, the central boulevard of the capital, about a five-minute walk from the White House. Upon establishing contact, the unknown tried to escape and started shooting in the direction of the law enforcement officers, who returned fire.

"That individual was hit. He's since been transported to the hospital. I've no comments on his condition," Quinn told a news conference.

He said that a minor who was nearby was wounded, but his life is not in danger, he is undergoing an examination in the hospital. Quinn also noted that shortly before the incident, the motorcade of US Vice President JD Vance passed through the place. Earlier, Secret Service Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on X that the incident occurred at the intersection of 15th Street and Independence Avenue.

As a precaution, security guards blocked the entrances to and exits from the White House complex for some time. The journalists working in their designated outdoor areas near the West Wing of the White House were asked to take shelter in the briefing room, and a short-term cordon was imposed on the territory. However, these precautions were quickly lifted. A TASS correspondent was allowed to enter the protected area unhindered, no visible additional security measures were taken there, and restrictions on movement near the West Wing were lifted.

The Secret Service, which has been operating under the US Department of Homeland Security in recent years, primarily protects the country's top leadership and foreign leaders stationed on American territory. Until 2003, this service, which has the status of a federal law enforcement agency, was part of the US Treasury, because it was founded in 1865 to combat money counterfeiting, but later its functions expanded significantly.