U.S. Attorney Details Suspect's Statements in Secret Service Shooting Near White House

A man exchanged gunfire with U.S.

Secret Service officers near the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 4, 2026, according to officials. m. near the National Mall, outside the White House perimeter. A plainclothes Secret Service officer observed a suspicious individual who appeared to have a firearm, U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn stated during a press briefing.

Uniformed Secret Service police followed the suspect briefly, and upon contact, he fled on foot and fired toward the officers, Quinn said. The officers returned fire, striking the suspect multiple times. The suspect, identified as Michael Marx, a 45-year-old with a Texas driver's license, remains hospitalized.

While en route to the hospital, the suspect said "F the White House" and repeated "Kill me" three times, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. stated in an interview with ABC News on May 5, 2026. The U.S. Attorney added that the suspect had no obvious connection to Washington and that authorities are determining his reasons for being in the city.

The U.S. Attorney intends to charge Marx with assault against a federal officer. Authorities are executing search warrants on the suspect's phone, digital media, and other locations to assess any threats to specific individuals or entities, including the vice president, sources said.

The U.S. Attorney noted that people sometimes come to the nation's capital to make political statements through violence and urged against using the city for such purposes.

A male juvenile bystander was struck during the gunfire and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to Quinn. The teen has since been released from the hospital, and investigators believe he was hit by the suspect's gunfire. The shooting occurred shortly after Vice President JD Vance's motorcade passed through the area, though the suspect did not approach it, Quinn said.

The incident prompted a brief evacuation of the White House North Lawn. It follows an alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over a week earlier.

The Metropolitan Police Department is conducting the use-of-force investigation, Quinn stated. Authorities are working to determine if the shooting was directed at any particular target. Multiple law enforcement sources reported efforts to uncover the suspect's motives through digital and physical searches.