US calls White House shooting attempted assassination of President Trump

A new filing by the United States Department of Justice has described shooting near the White House as another attempted assassination targeting US President Donald Trump, while urging a federal judge to lift an injunction blocking construction of the planned White House ballroom.

According to the United States Secret Service, officers shot and killed an armed man after he opened fire at a White House security checkpoint on May 23 evening. A bystander was also struck by gunfire, although authorities said it remained unclear how the individual was injured, ABC News reports.

The suspect was identified by Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department as 21-year-old Nasire Best of Dundalk, Maryland.

In the filing submitted on May 24 night, the Justice Department stated that the attacker “once again sought to murder the President, his family, and his staff” after approaching a Secret Service checkpoint and “professionally pulled a high caliber gun from a bag, and opened fire in the exact direction of the White House.”

The document, signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, also defended the proposed White House ballroom project, describing it as a critical national security facility.

The filing argued that the new ballroom would provide a “SAFE HAVEN” from attackers and said that large events currently held in temporary tents on the South Lawn remain vulnerable to gunfire and other threats.

“Without this National Security Facility, [large] events are otherwise relegated to the vulnerable tents on the South Lawn, exposed to various threats, as again shown by last night’s shooting,” the filing stated.

The Justice Department also disclosed new details about the planned structure’s security features, including a “heavy steel, drone proof roof,” “missile resistant and drone proof columns,” ballistic-resistant glass, and military-grade ventilation systems.

According to the filing, the ballroom roof will also include “a drone port and key location for rooftop snipers who will protect the White House and the entire Washington, D.C. area.”

The department said it had been “forced” to reveal security specifications in an effort to challenge the court injunction halting above-ground construction work.

The case is scheduled to be reviewed by a three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court on June 5 as legal disputes over the controversial project continue.

By Vafa Guliyeva