SriLanka, May 24 -- A man has been shot dead by Secret Service officers after opening fire on a security checkpoint near the White House, with a bystander also wounded in the gunfire.

Shortly after 6pm on Saturday, the suspect approached a Secret Service checkpoint at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, pulled a weapon from his bag and began shooting at officers posted there.

The Secret Service, the federal agency responsible for protecting the president, confirmed the sequence of events in an official statement, saying a preliminary investigation indicated the suspect had concealed his weapon in a bag before drawing it at the checkpoint.

The agents returned fire, striking the man, who was later p...