Man shoots himself near White House, President's house on lockdown

Washington: The White House was placed on lockdown and the surrounding area cordoned off by emergency personnel today after an apparent gunshot was heard.

The US Secret Service said on Twitter that it was responding "to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound along the north fence line of @White House." It said medical personnel were "responding to the male victim," but that there were "no other reported injuries." The victim's identity was not immediately known.

BREAKING: Secret Service personnel are responding to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gun shot wound along the north fence line of @WhiteHouse. — U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 3, 2018

President Donald Trump was not at the White House at the time. He is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Reporters tweeting from the White House briefing room said they had been told to shelter in place. Police cars and ambulances swarmed to the area minutes after the incident.

Disturbances outside the White House are not rare. On February 23, a woman was arrested after crashing her vehicle into a security barrier near the presidential residence.

There have been a number of security incidents at the White House in recent years. In March last year, a man armed with pepper spray spent more than 16 minutes inside the grounds after jumping the fence.