A man who fatally shot himself in front of the White House on Saturday graduated from Auburn, a University spokesman confirmed to The Plainsman Sunday.
The Washington Metropolitan Police Department identified the shooter on Sunday to be Cameron Ross Burgess, 26. He was from Maylene, Alabama, a small town in Shelby County, police said.
The University said he attended Auburn and graduated in 2013.
He lived near campus in student housing and was at one point registered to vote in Lee County, AL.com reported. He graduated from Thompson High School in 2009 before attending Auburn.
A search of online court records in Alabama shows no prior criminal record, though Burgess did receive a speeding ticket in August 2010 from a State Trooper who stopped him in Tallapoosa County.
The U.S. Secret Service said they responded to the scene along the north fence line of the White House on Saturday, where they found a man who had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
BREAKING: Secret Service personnel are responding to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gun shot wound along the north fence line of @WhiteHouse.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 3, 2018
D.C. Police said in a news release that Burgess approached the North White House fence line at about 11:46 a.m. Saturday and removed a concealed handgun, firing several rounds. None of them appeared to be directed toward the White House, police said.
Burgess was declared dead at the scene, police said Sunday. No others were injured, but the shooting shut down the area around the White House and sent many areas of the capital into lockdown.
The area where Burgess shot himself Saturday was crowded at the time during the height of the spring tourism season, the Washington Post reported. He was standing in the crowd when he shot himself and fell to the ground. More than 100 people fled after the shots were fired.
No members of the First Family were present at the White House on Saturday when Burgess shot himself, authorities said.
Police, who have not disclosed any potential motives for Burgess' suicide, said they typically do not release the identities of suicide victims but chose to release Burgess' name because of the public nature of the shooting.
Metropolitan Police searched his Honda Accord for more than four hours on Saturday, according to CNN. The car was parked on K Street near the Capital Hilton Hotel and had an Alabama license plate. Police said pictures, documents and several items were taken from his car after a bomb squad did several sweeps.
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Chip Brownlee, senior in journalism and political science, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
