The man accused of exchanging gunfire with U.S. Secret Service officers near the White House property in Washington, D.C., on Monday allegedly said “F the White House,” while en route to the hospital, according to U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro.
“One of the things that he said on the way to the hospital was, ‘F the White House,’ and ‘Kill me, kill me, kill me’ — three times,” Pirro said in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas on Tuesday. “But he was very clear, ‘F the White House.'”
A law enforcement officer stands watch at the scene of an officer-involved shooting in Washington, May 4, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The suspect and a juvenile bystander were struck during the exchange of gunfire, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
Pirro said she intends to charge the suspect, whom she identified as Michael Marx, with assault against a federal officer.
The 45-year-old suspect has a Texas driver’s license and no obvious connection to Washington, and authorities are working to learn why he was in the city, according to multiple law enforcement sources
Authorities are executing search warrants on his phone, digital media and other locations to try and determine if he posed any threat to specific individuals or entities, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, sources said.
“People think that by coming to the nation’s capital, they can really make put an emphasis on their political statement,” Pirro told ABC News. “I don’t like that the nation’s capital is being used as the venue or the context within which people want to practice their political violence.”
A U.S. Secret Service crime scene investigator works at the scene of an officer-involved shooting in Washington, May 4, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
She urged people against coming Washington, D.C., for such purposes.
The shooting occurred around 3:30 p.m. Monday near the National Mall, outside the perimeter of the White House complex, according to U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn.
A plainclothes Secret Service officer observed a “suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm,” Quinn said during a press briefing.
Uniformed Secret Service police briefly followed the suspect and, upon making contact, he fled on foot and fired in the direction of the officers, Quinn said.
“He starts running, and as he’s running, he pulls a gun and starts shooting at the Secret Service,” Pirro told ABC News. “They return fire, and it turns out that this defendant, Michael Marx, shoots at the Secret Service. He gets shot a few times.”
Marx was struck multiple times and remains hospitalized, Pirro said.
At least one bystander, a male juvenile, is believed to have been shot by the suspect and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to Quinn. The teen has since been released from the hospital, Pirro said.
“Everything I’ve seen leads me to believe, and the investigators believe, he was struck by the suspect,” Quinn said Monday.
The shooting comes over a week after an alleged assassination attempt on Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don’t know, but we will find out,” Quinn said Monday.
Law enforcement officers stand watch behind a cordon off area at the scene of an officer-involved shooting, with the Washington Monument in the background, in Washington, May 4, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Not long before the shooting occurred, Vance’s motorcade passed through the area, Quinn said. The suspect did not approach the motorcade, according to Quinn.
The use-of-force investigation will be conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department, Quinn said.
The incident prompted a brief evacuation of the White House North Lawn.
ABC News’ Jack Date contributed to this report.
