Shots Fired on National Mall Near White House, 3 People Taken Into Custody
Gunshots fired at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., resulted in the area’s closure early Friday morning.
An armed juvenile and two adults were arrested after the gunshots, according to WRC-TV.
The arrests were made on the 1600 block of Constitution Avenue, which separates the Ellipse south of the White House from the Washington Monument.
U.S. Park Police, Secret Service and D.C. police officers responded to reports of shots fired around 1:15 a.m.
No one was injured, but three unoccupied vehicles were reportedly struck with bullets.
Secret Service personnel don’t believe any protected locations were in danger as a result of the gunshots.
Secret service says they don’t believe any of their protected locations were a target in this shooting along national Mall. @wusa pic.twitter.com/vxVsaG9pZb
— Matt Gregory (@MattGregoryNews) August 19, 2022
D.C. police indicated that multiple shooters were involved in the event and that at least two guns had been recovered, Fox News reported.
The area of Constitution Avenue in question was closed off but ultimately reopened before 9 a.m.
The circumstances surrounding the gunshots weren’t immediately clear.
It’s not clear if the arrestees have been criminally charged as a result of the shooting.
The Secret Service has taken action in response to shootings in the area of the White House before.
A Secret Service agent escorted then-President Donald Trump out of the White House briefing room after an agency-involved shooting in August 2020.
In that instance, the Secret Service shot a man who was acting aggressively outside of the White House perimeter, according to The Washington Post.
The nation’s capital has a serious gun violence problem.
Washington, D.C., saw 226 homicides in 2021, the most in 18 years, according to the Capital News Service.
City officials have reportedly resorted to seeking advice on the problem from inmates at a district jail.
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