A LOCKDOWN HAS been lifted on the White House after Secret Service officers shot a man in the vicinity.

The US Park Police say there was a shooting just west of the White House.

“Shooting on W. Executive Dr. PIO en route to 17th and Pennsylvania,” they said in a tweet.

The White House was placed on a security alert after the shooting, which occurred in the afternoon.

A US law official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorisation to release the information, said a person approached a Secret Service officer and drew a weapon, and then the officer opened fire.

CNN says the suspect was shot in the abdomen down and taken into custody.

A spokesman for DC Fire and EMS, Doug Buchanan, said one patient was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition shortly after 3 pm.

The White House was put into lockdown following the incident. The lockdown has since been lifted.

President Barack Obama was not on the property at the time. The White House said earlier he had gone to play golf at Andrews Air Force Base.

Vice-president Joe Biden was locked down in the White House at the time.

- With reporting from Cormac Fitzgerald AFP and AP.