The US Secret Service said on Sunday it was investigating reports of overnight gunfire near Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House.

No injuries were reported and no suspect was found after a search of the park and the surrounding area after midnight, the agency said in an online post.

Donald Trump was spending the weekend at the White House, which had no immediate comment on the incident. White House operations remained as normal but security in the area was increased, according to the Secret Service.

The park has been fenced off for weeks of renovations.

The Secret Service said it was working with District of Columbia police and US Park Police.

  • GuyFawkesV@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    27
    ·
    23 hours ago

    Any chance it was a single gunshot from the Oval Office, with no one leaving afterwards?

    Walls are closing in!

  • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    18 hours ago

    The park has been fenced off for weeks of renovations.

    Ah. So that’s where the tunnel goes, and where the escape-Denalis are parked.

    • homes@piefed.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      20
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      My first thought is kids fucking around. Or not-kids fucking around.

      But, yeah, probably just a prank. I’ve lived in New York long enough not to jump every time I hear a bang that sounds like a gunshot, because most of the time, it isn’t. Firecracker. Car or truck backfiring. Especially now that they’re adding more ethanol to the gasoline, a car or truck backfiring is more likely than it used to be.

      • atropa@piefed.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 day ago

        Ethanol has been added to the petrol here for years; it produces no negative effects whatsoever, certainly no explosive noises.

        Greetings from Europe

        • homes@piefed.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          17
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 day ago

          Adding a bit of ethanol is not bad, in and of itself. We do it here too.

          Increasing the amount of ethanol further, in order to extend fuel reserves, can start to have negative effect on the engine— one of those side effects includes causing the engine to backfire.

          • atropa@piefed.social
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            5
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 day ago

            The standard here is E5 or E10,

            All vehicles from the last 25 years handle this perfectly well, classic vehicles less so.

            Higher than E20 will indeed cause problems, due to engine lifespan.