National Guard soldiers shot in ‘targeted’ attack near White House

Two National Guard soldiers were shot near the White House on Wednesday in what officials described as a targeted ambush, and a suspect is in custody after being shot during the attack.

President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the attack, prompting the White House to go into lockdown as law enforcement from multiple federal and city agencies swept into the area.

The guards were part of a “high-visibility patrol” around 2:15 p.m. near the corner of 17th and I streets, a short distance from the White House, when the suspect came around a corner and “ambushed,” Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said at a press briefing.

After an exchange of gunfire, other guard members were able to subdue the suspect, he said. FBI director Kash Patel said that the condition of two injured soldiers is critical in local hospitals.

“This is a targeted attack,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the briefing.

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially said in a post on X that both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and died from their injuries. But he soon posted another statement citing “conflicting reports” about his condition.

A motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, but officials said they believe the shooter acted alone. The identities of the suspects and victims have not been released.

Trump is at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, while US Vice President JD Vance is in Kentucky.

In a social media post, Trump called the suspected shooter an “animal” who will “pay a very high price” and praised the National Guard.

The shooting happened near Farragut Square, a popular lunch spot for office workers just a few blocks from the White House. The park, where light posts are wrapped in garlands and bows for the holiday season, is surrounded by fast-casual restaurants and coffee shops, as well as two metro stops.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene after the shootout with fleeing pedestrians.

Mike Ryan, 55, said he was going to buy lunch nearby when he heard what sounded like gunshots. He ran half a block away and heard another round of apparent gunfire.

When he returned to the scene, he saw two National Guard members on the ground in the street, people trying to revive one of them. At the same time, other National Guard members pinned someone to the ground, Ryan said.

Another witness, Emma MacDonald, said she saw a member of the guard being carried away on a stretcher minutes after the shooting, his head covered in blood and an automated compression system attached to his chest.

National Guard troops have been in Washington since August, when Trump deployed them to the streets as part of his controversial immigration and crime crackdown targeting the Democratic-led city.

As of Wednesday, there were about 2,200 National Guard troops in Washington, including troops from the District of Columbia as well as Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Alabama.

Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly suggested that crime has disappeared from the capital as a result of the deployment, which has been opposed by local officials and heavily criticized by Democrats.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Trump had asked for 500 additional Guard troops to be deployed to Washington in the wake of the shooting.