Shooting has been reported outside the US White House.....

Shooting reported outside White House

• 15 minutes ago
 
• From the section US & Canada

Image copyrightEPA

Image captionThe shooting occurred west of the White House

A shooting has been reported outside the White House, according to US Park Police.

Police told ABC News that a Secret Service agent shot an armed man at a security checkpoint near the building.

The White House was briefly placed on lockdown in response to the shooting. President Barack Obama was golfing in Maryland at the time.

The victim is being transported to a local hospital with critical injuries, authorities have said.

Vice President Joe Biden was in the White House at the time.

The White House has seen a number of security incidents in recent years, prompting changes at the executive complex.

In 2014, Iraq War veteran Omar Gonzalez jumped the White House fence and ran into the building with a knife.

Another man, Joseph Caputo, scaled the White House fence on Thanksgiving of last year.

In 2011, Oscar Ortega-Hernandez shot at the White House and was charged with attempting to assassinate Mr Obama or a member of his staff.

Mr Ortega-Hernandez believed God had given him a personal mission to attack the White House, law enforcement sources said.