In the early hours of Sunday local time, a report of gunfire near the White House triggered a sweeping investigation by the US Secret Service, putting the nation’s capital on heightened security alert while President Donald Trump remained in residence for the Easter weekend.
According to official statements from the agency, Secret Service officers were dispatched to Lafayette Park, a green space located directly north of the presidential residence, just minutes after midnight local time, which corresponds to 04:00 GMT, following multiple calls reporting shots fired in the area. Responding teams immediately locked down the zone and carried out a systematic search of the park and all adjacent neighborhoods to locate the source of the gunfire and any potential person of interest.
As of Sunday evening, investigators have not located any suspect connected to the incident, and no reports of civilian or law enforcement injuries have emerged. The Secret Service and its collaborating law enforcement partners are now actively tracing a potential vehicle linked to the case as they continue to piece together what happened.
Unlike most weekends, when Trump travels to his private Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for downtime, the president opted to stay in Washington DC this Easter holiday. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung noted in a Saturday post on X that Trump had been working continuously from the Oval Office and the White House complex throughout the weekend. Per CBS News, the BBC’s US media partner, Trump was scheduled to host a private family Easter dinner at the White House on Sunday.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed in an update on X that the investigation forced temporary closure of multiple public roads in the affected area, but all thoroughfares have since been reopened to traffic. While routine operations across the White House complex have remained uninterrupted, Guglielmi added that a heightened security posture has been implemented across the perimeter as a precaution.
A Secret Service representative reaffirmed to the BBC on Sunday evening that the active investigation is still ongoing, with investigators working to trace all potential leads. The White House has not yet issued a formal response to the BBC’s request for additional comment on the incident.