The US Secret Service has shot an armed man outside the White House after an “armed confrontation”, and the man is now in an area hospital, it says.

US President Donald Trump was not in the residence at the time, as he was spending the weekend at his Florida residence.

Secret Service officials received a tip on Saturday (local time) from local authorities that a suicidal person may be travelling to Washington DC from Indiana, said a statement.

The person’s car was found a block from the White House.

“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the statement continued.

“The suspect was transported to an area hospital, and his condition is unknown.”

There were no reported injuries to Secret Service personnel.

Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police said investigators from its internal affairs division were looking into the incident but declined further comment.

There have been a series of incidents involving armed men shot by security officers on or near the White House grounds over the years, including the shooting, in 2016, of a man who brandished a handgun at a White House security gate.

In 2023, a 20-year-old Indian immigrant named Sai Varshith Kandula unsuccessfully tried to break through the White House’s protective barriers in a rented truck.

Trump himself narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July when a gunman fired at him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, wounding his ear.

A Secret Service review found that communication gaps and a lack of diligence contributed to the incident.