Shots fired outside the White House tonight. Here's exactly what's confirmed — and what isn't.

DEVELOPING — posted the evening of May 23, 2026. I'll update this as the record firms up, and I'll correct anything I get wrong.

Around 6 PM Eastern this evening, what sounded like roughly 20 gunshots — some reporters on the scene counted closer to 30 — were heard near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, just outside the White House complex, over toward the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Secret Service agents pulled the press corps off the North Lawn, moved them into the briefing room, and ordered a shelter-in-place. Reporters described agents shouting "get down" and "shots fired."

Here's the discipline I'm going to hold to, because it's the entire point of this site: I'll tell you what's confirmed, I'll tell you what isn't, and I will not fill the gaps with a story.

The footage going around right now

This is the video circulating on X tonight, posted by @nicksortor. I can't independently verify it yet, and posts like this can be edited or taken down — but here it is, so you can see exactly what people are reacting to:

Credit: @nicksortor on X. Treat it as unverified footage until the Secret Service or FBI confirms the details.

What's confirmed — on the record

• Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency is aware of "reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW" and is working to "corroborate the information with personnel on the ground."
• FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI is "on scene and supporting the Secret Service."
• President Trump was at the White House as of 4 PM today.
• The press corps was moved inside and told to shelter in place.

What is NOT confirmed yet

• Whether shots were actually fired at all — officials have not confirmed the source or nature of the sounds.
• Whether anyone was shot, injured, or arrested.
• Any suspect, any motive, any description.
• Any damage to the complex.

Anyone telling you more than that right now is guessing. I'm not going to guess.

The part that's hard to ignore

This is the third security scare around the president in about a month — gunfire near the White House Correspondents' Dinner screening area on April 25, a Secret Service shootout near the Washington Monument on May 4, and now tonight. I'm not drawing a line connecting them. I'm noting that the line keeps showing up, and that's worth keeping on the record.

I have been on the wrong end of a story that got written before the facts were in. It cost me years of my life. So I will wait for the facts. The moment the Secret Service or the FBI puts something official on the record, it goes here — sourced, dated, and corrected if any of the above changes.

Developing. Check back.

— Ryan

---

Sources, as of posting: CNN Politics, CBS News live updates, FOX 5 DC, and the Internet Archive of official statements. Every claim above is attributed to a named official or to on-scene press; nothing here is my speculation.