Gunfire erupted just south of the White House on Monday afternoon after Secret Service agents confronted an armed man near the Washington Monument, an incident that left a teenage bystander injured and forced one of the capital's most heavily visited districts into lockdown. The exchange unfolded in seconds, but its shockwaves moved through a city already tense over recent security breaches.
The confrontation took place in an area usually defined by slow-moving tourists and open lawns. Instead, it became a scene of sirens, cordons and armed response teams converging around the National Mall while Vice President JD Vance's motorcade had passed through only moments earlier.
