#Trump briefing halted by Secret Service after shots fired near White House

WASHINGTON — Secret Service agents abruptly halted President Trump’s coronavirus briefing on Monday evening after an armed suspect was shot outside the White House, he said.

The president was just minutes into his briefing shortly before 6 PM when a Secret Service agent whispered in Trump’s ear and asked him to leave the podium along with other administration officials who were in the room.

Reporters in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room were briefly placed into lockdown and Secret Service surrounded the West Wing.

The president returned to the stage just minutes later to confirm someone had been taken to hospital following a shooting outside of the large White House wall.

“It seems that the person was shot by the Secret Service so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, calling the episode “unfortunate.”

“It was outside of the White House,” he said. “It seems that the shooting was done by law enforcement at the suspect, it was the suspect who was shot,” he continued.

The president said he was not taken into the secure underground bunker but to an area near the Oval Office. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was also in the room.

“It was pretty unusual but they do a fantastic job, as you know,” he said, telling reporters he did not fear for his safety after the dramatic episode.

“They just wanted me to step aside for a little while just to make sure that everything was clear outside,” he added.

Appearing unfazed by the incident, the president resumed his briefing and spoke of decreasing US fatalities from the virus and market numbers.

When asked if he was rattled by the shooting, the president said: “I don’t know, do I seem rattled?”

“I didn’t even think about not coming back,” he said, calling the world a “dangerous place.”

A senior administration official confirmed to CNN that an active shooter had been taken into custody.

The incident reportedly took place at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, right outside the White House and near Lafayette Park.

The shooter’s identity and motivation remains unknown.

“I’m sorry for the disturbance before,” the president said before taking questions from reporters.