The White House was placed on lockdown after dozens of gunshots.

Police and security forces concentrated in the area around the White House on the evening of May 23rd following reports of gunshots.

US Secret Service agents carrying guns move around the White House grounds on May 23. Photo: AFP

Police and security forces were heavily deployed around the White House on the evening of May 23 (this morning Hanoi time) after a series of gunshots rang out at the corner of 17th Street and the northwest section of Pennsylvania Avenue, just outside the White House complex.

Members of the press corps who were on the North Lawn were escorted into the White House press briefing room. They were instructed to take cover as Secret Service agents shouted "stay down" and warned of "gunfire."

A reporter said the sound appeared to be coming from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex.

Secret Service agents, armed with rifles, moved across the North Lawn and sealed off the White House press briefing room after reports of gunfire. President Donald Trump was at the White House at the time, as he was working to negotiate a deal with Iran.

Police cars outside the White House after a series of gunshots on the evening of May 23.

Police blocked access to the White House, and the U.S. National Guard prevented an AFP reporter from entering the area.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency "is on the scene and assisting Secret Service agents in responding to shots fired near the White House grounds."

Canadian tourist Reid Adrian said he was near the area when he "heard about 20-25 things that sounded like fireworks, but were actually gunshots, and then people started running."

The lockdown was lifted at 6:45 p.m. on May 23 (5:45 a.m. on May 24 Hanoi time). According to a law enforcement official, two people were injured in the encounter with Secret Service agents near the White House.

President Trump, 79, has been the target of three failed assassination attempts. The most recent incident occurred on April 25th, when a man with a gun stormed a security checkpoint near the room where Trump was attending a press conference at a hotel in Washington, D.C.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/nha-trang-bi-phong-toa-sau-hang-chuc-tieng-sung-post900243.html