Man shot near White House had ‘threatened to kill’
- Myron Berryman, 51, was critically wounded by Secret Service officer and remains in hospital
- Incident disrupted Trump news briefing and prompted president’s abrupt exit under escort
A man shot and wounded by a uniformed Secret Service officer, prompting US President Donald Trump to be abruptly escorted out of a briefing room during a televised news conference, had been threatening to kill people near the White House, two officials familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The man was identified as Myron Berryman, 51, and is expected to face federal assault charges, the officials said. He remained hospitalised with critical injuries on Tuesday, they said. The officials, who were briefed on the investigation, could not discuss the ongoing probe publicly and spoke to on condition of anonymity.
Berryman had approached the uniformed officer just before 6pm on Monday at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, just blocks from the White House, and told the officer he had a weapon, Secret Service Uniformed Division Chief Tom Sullivan said.
He then moved aggressively toward the officer and appeared ready to fire before the officer shot him once, Sullivan said.
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US President Trump escorted from briefing after shooting outside White House
Sullivan would not answer questions on Monday night about whether the man had indeed been armed, but no weapon was recovered at the scene, the officials said.
Before the shooting, Berryman had been shouting that he was going to kill people, according to the officials familiar with the matter.