--- description: Secret Service agents are investigating reports of gunshots near the White House on Saturday. An individual reportedly shot him or herself. title: Reports of Shots Fired Near White House Being Investigated image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97e5df2e84d4a1d2/6989297ffb4eac524e895e17/white-house.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Man Who Shot Himself Near the White House Has Died, Officials Say  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:32 PM CUTPublished: Mar 3, 2018 5:26 PM CUT  A member of the Secret Service's uniformed division patrols Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House on October 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski A member of the Secret Service's uniformed division patrols Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House on October 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SmialowskiBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI—AFP/Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:32 PM CUTPublished: Mar 3, 2018 5:26 PM CUT A man who suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head near the White House on Saturday has died, according to Washington, D.C., police and the Secret Service. After reports of shots fired near the White House lawn, the Secret Service tweeted that it was investigating the situation, which appeared to involve an individual with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Around 2 p.m., the D.C. Police Department, which sent its natural death squad to the scene, tweeted that the man had been declared deceased and next of kin would be notified. > [](https://twitter.com/SecretService/status/969982843152752647) > [](https://twitter.com/DCPoliceDept/status/970012865540345859) The man, whose identity has been confirmed but not yet released, “approached the vicinity of the North White House fence line and removed a concealed handgun and fired several rounds, none of which appear at this time to have been directed towards the White House,” [according to a statement from the Secret Service](https://www.secretservice.gov/data/press/releases/2018/18-MAR/GPA%5FSecret%5FService%5FStatement%5FRegarding%5FMarch%5F3,%5F2018%5FShooting%5FIncident%5FNear%5Fthe%5FWhite%5FHouse.pdf "undefined"). No other injuries occurred in connection with the incident, the statement adds. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were not in the White House at the time of the incident. White House officials are aware of the situation and the president has been briefed, [the Associated Press reports](http://newsroom.ap.org/detail/text/SecretServicePossibleself-inflictedshotbyWhiteHouse/06a1b2bc22c84854824d54cbbf6c84f0?id=8B012CFF-A0DF-4FDF-B4BB-50E8A8D38D54&st=hpsection&mediaType=text&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1011¤tItemNo=0 "undefined"). The White House reportedly went into lockdown after the gunshots were heard on Saturday, with journalists and others inside told to shelter in place. > [](https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/969980906197934080) Washington, D.C., police will lead the ongoing investigation with support from the Secret Service and other law enforcement officials, according to the Secret Service statement. _This is a developing story and will be updated._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5184218/shots-fired-white-house/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5184218/shots-fired-white-house/"},"headline":"A Man Who Shot Himself Near the White House Has Died, Officials Say","datePublished":"2018-03-03T17:26:17.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T21:32:11.000Z","description":"An individual reportedly has a self-inflicted gunshot wound","url":"https://time.com/5184218/shots-fired-white-house/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97e5df2e84d4a1d2/6989297ffb4eac524e895e17/white-house.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97e5df2e84d4a1d2/6989297ffb4eac524e895e17/white-house.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-WHITE HOUSE-SECURITY","caption":"US-POLITICS-WHITE HOUSE-SECURITY","creditText":"BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5184218/shots-fired-white-house/","name":"A Man Who Shot Himself Near the White House Has Died, Officials Say"}}]}] ```