By RON FOURNIER
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A man brandishing a gun outside the White House fence was shot by a Secret Service officer Wednesday after a 10-minute standoff, officials said. The episode triggered a tight security clampdown.

President Bush was safe in his residence, exercising, at the time. Vice President Dick Cheney was working in his office. Laura Bush was at the family ranch in Crawford, Texas.

The wounded man was Robert W. Pickett, 47, of Evansville, Ind., according to law enforcement officials. He was taken to nearby George Washington University Hospital where he was to undergo surgery. He was also to undergo psychiatric evaluation.

Officials said the episode began when police approached a man with a gun on the sidewalk along the fence on the south side of the White House.

“He was waving it in the air - it was pointed at the White House at one point - and pointing it in all directions,” said Park Police spokesman Rob MacLean. At one point, the suspect placed the gun in his mouth, MacLean added.

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said officers on regular patrol “heard shots fired and proceeded to surround the subject.”

He said the wound did not appear to be life threatening and that the president understood he was not in any danger, the spokesman said.

The confrontation occurred on a street frequented by tourists, within sight of the fountain on the South Lawn of the White House.

Asked why officers fired on the suspect, Fleischer said they “felt it was necessary