All posts tagged: bystander

Gunman Dead, Bystander Wounded After Large Shootout With Secret Service Near White House, Trump Safe

Gunman Dead, Bystander Wounded After Large Shootout With Secret Service Near White House, Trump Safe

Published by Jenni Sidey

After a very busy day in Washington and at the White House, given the Saturday flurry of diplomatic activity over the announcement of a tentative Iran peace deal, but which is still awaiting word and some details from Tehran, a deadly shooting erupted just outside the White House, resulting in a massive security and response and presence. President Trump was at the White House when at around 6pm ET the Secret Service responded in a hail of gunfire as 21-year-old Maryland man Nasire Best opened fire at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. via Reuters The president is safe, and the emergency has been declared over. Somewhere between approximately 15 to 30 gunshots were fired, according to CBS News, which spoke to local law enforcement. President Trump was at the White House during the incident, “but was not impacted,” the Secret Service spokesperson later announced. A bystander was wounded, and the suspect was hit by by Secret Service officers upon returning fire. The gunman was wounded and taken to the …

Secret Service shoots person near the White House, bystander also shot

Secret Service shoots person near the White House, bystander also shot

Published by Sam Flores

Construction cranes and an American flag outside of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images A person who approached a White House security checkpoint and began firing at officers has died, according to federal officials. The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that, according to a preliminary investigation, the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6 p.m. ET, “removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers.” Officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died, according to the Secret Service. A bystander was struck, but a law enforcement official said it wasn’t clear whether that person was struck by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers. Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that President Donald Trump — who was at the White House at the time — was not “impacted.” Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk just …

The bystander effect applies to virtual agents, new psychology research shows

The bystander effect applies to virtual agents, new psychology research shows

Published by José Betancourt

A recent study published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition has found that interacting with an artificial intelligence partner alters our sense of control in unexpected ways. When people work on a task alongside a virtual agent capable of taking action, they consciously feel less responsible for the outcome, yet their unconscious brain activity shows a heightened tracking of their own actions. This suggests that the human mind adapts to the presence of digital partners much like it does to other people. The scientific concept of the “sense of agency” refers to the feeling that a person is the direct cause of events happening around them. For example, when you flip a light switch and the room illuminates, you naturally feel a sense of ownership over that action and its result. Past studies have shown that this feeling tends to weaken when other people are present and capable of acting. This weakening is similar to the bystander effect, where individuals in a crowd feel less responsible for helping in an emergency because they assume someone …