The US Secret Service said on Twitter that it was responding "to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound along the north fence line of @White House"-Photo: File

WASHINGTON: The White House was placed on lockdown and the surrounding area cordoned off by emergency personnel Saturday after an apparent gunshot was heard.

The US Secret Service said on Twitter that it was responding "to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound along the north fence line of @White House."

It said medical personnel were "responding to the male victim," but that there were "no other reported injuries."

The victim´s identity was not immediately known.

President Donald Trump was not at the White House at the time. He is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Reporters tweeting from the White House briefing room said they had been told to shelter in place. Police cars and ambulances swarmed to the area minutes after the incident.

Disturbances outside the White House are not rare. On Feb. 23, a woman was arrested after crashing her vehicle into a security barrier near the presidential residence.

And there have been repeated attempts to jump over fences around the building.