Officers in front of the North Gate at the White House Photo Credit: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=dVP8ayBg&id=ECAA5A17C32BCD765BCDC00ED718CC41A2468C16&thid=OIF.x5pcEoP85UmPlPZUcchOaA&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fcoinwirenews.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2018%2f03%2f1520122621_907_man-reportedly-shoots-himself-to-death-near-white-house-secret-service-says.jpg&exph=751&expw=1024&q=suicide+at+white+house&simid=146164573712&selectedIndex=8&ajaxhist=0
White House Suicide
March 5, 2018
On March 3rd, a 26-year-old male identified as Cameron Ross Burgess from Maylene, Alabama shot himself in front of the White House in Washington, D.C.
At approximately 11:46 in the morning, Burgess came to the North White House fence which is when he took a concealed handgun and fired several rounds. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the shots were not a threat to the White House.
Christy Nguyen, a senior at Loara High School says, “It’s unbelievable that no one would be aware of the situation. The fact that the man was so close to the White House and no security was aware that a weapon was on the surrounding premises is quite a surprise.”
Law enforcement also notified that Cameron Burgess shot his phone before shooting himself. There is no evidence of a suicide note, but illegible sentences were discovered on the scene of the suicide.
Only the shooter himself was injured during the incident and no one in the surrounding area was injured or killed. Burgess suffered from one single gunshot wound and his remains were examined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
At the time of the shooting, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were in Florida at Mar-a-Lago. Trump returned to Washington in order to attend the Gridiron Club Dinner which occurs annually.
Christy Nguyen also stated, “First of all, it’s questionable that the president is not at the White House in the first place and I don’t seem to understand why he has not yet spoken about this young man’s death publicly.”
The suicide is now being investigated by the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department. On Saturday afternoon, law enforcement took four hours searching a car with an Alabama license place which was a maroon Honda Accord that was parked near the Capital Hilton hotel.
After officers blocked off the neighborhood, they took several artifacts from the vehicle including pictures and documents that were being held in a cigar box. Following all the commotion, the car was towed away and the scene was cleared.
Maddie Gorrie