WASHINGTON – Former NBA player Lonny Baxter was arrested by uniformed Secret Service agents on Wednesday after shots were fired from a vehicle about two blocks from the White House.

Baxter, who played with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, was taken into custody around 2:30 a.m. after a witness flagged down a Secret Service agent and reported shots fired from a white sport-utility vehicle, said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren.

Officers stopped the vehicle, which Baxter was driving, near the intersection of 17th and I streets in Northwest Washington .

“There were spent shell casings in plain view inside the vehicle,” Zahren said. Officers also recovered a handgun.

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1/5 Both Baxter, 27, and the vehicle’s passenger, 35-year-old Irvin Martin, were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearms charges. It wasn’t immediately clear why they were allegedly firing the gun.

“We’re not sure at this point,” Zahren said. “There may be some subsequent charges if we discover some additional information.”

The two suspects are being held by District of Columbia police.

Bobcats spokesman Scott Leightman said Baxter is no longer with the team. “His contract ran out, and we opted not to resign him,” Leightman said.

Baxter signed a one-year deal earlier this month with Italian team Montepaschi Siena.

Baxter starred at Maryland before being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 2002 NBA draft. The native of Silver Spring, Md., just outside of Washington, also played briefly for the Wizards .

He joined the Bobcats in the middle of last season in a trade with