BREAKING: White House shutdown after gun battle.

A shooting incident involving a lone armed man and security operatives, has led to the lockdown of the White House, home of the American President.

Details of the incident is still scanty and sketchy, but the shooting reportedly took place outside the White House, according to US Park Police.

Police told ABC News that a Secret Service agent shot an armed man at a security checkpoint near the building, according to BBC.

The White House

The White House was briefly placed on lockdown in response to the shooting. President Barack Obama was golfing in Maryland at the time.

The victim is being transported to a local hospital with critical injuries, authorities have said.

Vice President Joe Biden was in the White House at the time.

The White House has seen a number of security incidents in recent years, prompting changes at the executive complex.

In 2014, Iraq War veteran Omar Gonzalez jumped the White House fence and ran into the building with a knife.

Another man, Joseph Caputo, scaled the White House fence on Thanksgiving of last year.

In 2011, Oscar Ortega-Hernandez shot at the White House and was charged with attempting to assassinate Mr Obama or a member of his staff.

Mr Ortega-Hernandez believed God had given him a personal mission to attack the White House, law enforcement sources said.

Source Whirlwindnews.com