Secret Service springs into action as 'gunshots' heard outside the White House

By JAMES GORDON, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 23:22, 23 May 2026 | Updated: 23:29, 23 May 2026 The White House was placed on lockdown after journalists near the White House reported hearing what sounded like 20 to 30 rounds of gunfire on Saturday evening,  Network staffers said they were moved to secure locations inside the White House as the situation unfolded, while NBC sought comment from the US Secret Service. Television footage from the scene showed heavily armed Secret Service personnel positioned on the White House North Lawn carrying rifles. 'I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots,' tweeted ABC White House Correspondent Selena Wang. 'It sounded like dozens of gunshots. We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now.' This is a breaking story - more follows...  Reporters near the White House said they heard what sounded like dozens of gunshots on Saturday evening The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.