The Secret Service has shot an armed man outside the White House, according to US officials.

Police told ABC News that a man brandished a weapon at a security checkpoint near the building and was shot in the stomach.

The White House was briefly placed on lockdown after the shooting on Friday. President Barack Obama was playing golf in Maryland at the time.

The man was transported to hospital with critical injuries, officials said.

Vice-President Joe Biden was in the White House at the time. He was taken to a "secure area" during the incident, White House officials said.

"Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers gave numerous verbal commands for the subject to stop and drop the firearm," security agencies said in a joint statement.

"When the subject failed to comply with the verbal commands, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody

"At this time, based on a preliminary investigation, there is no known nexus to terrorism."