Washington: Gunshots were heard on a street
near the White House on Saturday following which a loaded AK-47 was
recovered from an abandoned Honda sedan car near the Roosevelt Bridge but the suspect remained at
large.
US President Barack Obama is out of town. He is currently
in California on his way to Hawaii to attend the APEC Summit while Vice President Joseph R Biden Jr is in New York for Veterans Day observances.
The US Secret Service said the security of the White
House was not compromised and it was not in danger.
"We received a call of shots fired near 16th Street and
Constitution Avenue, which is between the White House and the
Washington Monument, at about 9:30 pm" last night (8:00 am IST
today), US Park Police spokesman Sgt David Schlosser said.
Police are looking for bullet holes, he said, adding they
have not yet confirmed that shots were actually fired.
There has been no report of any injury so far, Schlosser
said, adding the suspect was last seen running across 23rd
street and Roosevelt Bridge in Washington DC, several blocks
away from the White House.
"A rifle was recovered" from an abandoned mid-size car
which has been taken into custody, Schlosser said.
A Secret Service spokesman said the rifle was AK-47.
"Not found anybody attached to it," Schlosser said, when
asked if any arrest has been made so far.
"An AK-47 was recovered," US Secret Service spokesman
Edwin Donova said, adding that no arrest has been made so
far.
The Secret Service also ruled out any breach in the
White House security as the incident occurred outside its
perimeter.
"It was outside... So no question of (security breach),"
the spokesman said, adding it was not a terrorist incident.
PTI
