Armed man near White House spurs swift response

Dwight Ellison, a former Secret Service Agent, says that Bush was never in danger

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A man waving a handgun outside the southwest gate of the White House on Wednesday set off a swift response by Secret Service and other law enforcement officers who have been rigorously trained for such an event.

"Everything was according to the plan," said Dwight Ellison, a Secret Service agent during the Carter and Reagan administrations.

The Secret Service shot and wounded a 47-year-old man late Wednesday morning after the man, identified by law enforcement officials as Robert Pickett of Evansville, Indiana, appeared outside the White House gate with a pistol, authorities said.

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Eyewitnesses said the man fired two or three shots, jumped into nearby bushes and remained there for about 15 minutes while agents tried to get him to put down his gun. The Secret Service could not confirm he fired the gun before its agents arrived. The U.S. Park Service Police said it had no evidence yet that the gun was fired.

The incident prompted a lockdown of the White House grounds, but the Secret Service said President Bush was never in danger.

"In a situation like this, there exists an emergency response or rapid response team, primarily made up of uniformed officers," said Ellison, now chief of corporate security for Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN. "Those guys will respond to the grounds. If there's someone on the ground, they'll provide an immediate search."

Ellison said Secret Service agents notify Washington's municipal police and the park police, who also patrol the area around the White House, as they go into action. The security staff may also consider moving the president out of the official residence.

"The decision what to do or not to do what with the president is made by the agent who's responsible for the president's protection, along with the chief of staff and the president himself," Ellison said.

"Depending on the gravity of the incident, again, the president may be moved, the president may not," he said. In the case of Wednesday's incident, "There was probably no reason to move him -- just alert him."

Former President Clinton closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in 1995 after several violent incidents.

In September 1994, the pilot of a small plane crashed his aircraft onto the residence's South Lawn. The pilot was killed in that crash.

A month later, a Colorado man opened fire through the White House fence with a rifle, spraying the front of the building with at least 29 bullets. The gunman, Francisco Duran, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

And in May 1995, the Secret Service shot a man who scaled a White House fence, carrying an unloaded gun. Clinton had made

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