New Delhi: The US secret service had to step in and escort President Donald Trump from a news conference on Monday after a shooting was reported from outside the White House. The incident happened while the president was in the Briefing Room of the White House talking to reporters.

The US secret service has said that ‘a male subject & a Secret Service officer were both transported to a hospital’ and that ‘at no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger. The agency has also released a statement regarding the incident.

'At approximately 5:53 PM today, a 51 year old male approached a U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officer who was standing at his post on the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. near the White House Complex. The suspect approached the officer and told the officer he had a weapon. The suspect then turned around, ran aggressively towards the officer, and in a drawing motion, withdrew an object from his clothing. He then crouched into a shooter’s stance as if about to fire a weapon. The Secret Service officer discharged his weapon striking the individual in the torso. Officers immediately rendered first aid to the suspect and D.C. Fire and EMS were called to the scene. Both the suspect and the officer were transported to local hospitals'

It also said, 'The White House Complex was not breached during the incident and no Secret Service protectees were ever in danger.'

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"There was an actual shooting, and somebody has been taken to the hospital. I don't know the condition of the person. It seems to be very well under control. It was the suspect that was shot," said Trump in a report by IANS.

According to a report by CNN, a senior administration official informed that the shooting happened just outside of the White House grounds close to Lafayette Square and that the shooter is in custody.

The report said that Trump also praised the quick response of the secret service,"I feel very safe with the Secret Service. They're fantastic people. They're the best of the best. They're highly trained.”

The President was brought back to the Briefing Room after it was deemed safe by the secret service. He continued the conference and informed the reporters about the Covid 19 situation and testing rates in the country. He even compared the rates with that in India.

"We have tested close to 65 million people and no country is even close to that number. India would be second at 11 million (tests) and they have 1.5 billion people. We also have high-quality tests. I feel strongly that we will have a vaccine by the end of the year," said Trump during the conference.

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