Story perspectives

Gunman Wounded, Teen Injured Near Monument After Dinner Attack

5/5/2026

Left

Secret Service Engages

The shooting came less than two weeks after a gunman attacked the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, sparking security breach concerns.
Secret Service agents exchanged fire with suspect near Washington Monument, wounding suspect (now in custody) and teenage bystander, both hospitalized.
The White House lockdown lasted only minutes, so President Donald Trump's small-business event continued uninterrupted.
Reporters outside the White House were escorted into the briefing room after the shooting.

Right

Secret Service Engages

President Donald Trump kept his White House schedule, proceeding with events as Secret Service confronted an armed suspect nearby.
A man and a juvenile bystander were shot near 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C., and were hospitalized.
Plain-clothes Secret Service agents detected a firearm imprint, approached, and exchanged fire with the suspect.
Officials said the shooter did not target Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade, which had passed.

History

Historical Context

The 2024 Washington Monument shooting echoes the two 1975 assassination attempts on President Gerald Ford in Sacramento (Sept 5) and San Francisco (Sept 22), where Secret Service agents intervened after a .45-caliber pistol and a .38 revolver were used. Those incidents prompted the Secret Service to increase protective distance and security protocols for presidents, a practice still applied today.

1 of 3

Secret Service Engages

The shooting came less than two weeks after a gunman attacked the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, sparking security breach concerns.
Secret Service agents exchanged fire with suspect near Washington Monument, wounding suspect (now in custody) and teenage bystander, both hospitalized.
The White House lockdown lasted only minutes, so President Donald Trump's small-business event continued uninterrupted.
Reporters outside the White House were escorted into the briefing room after the shooting.

1 / 3