National Guard soldiers shot in 'targeted' attack near White House

WASHINGTON: Two National Guard soldiers were shot on Wednesday (Nov 26) near the White House in what officials described as a targeted attack, and the suspect was in custody after suffering gunshot wounds during the incident.

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

The suspect came around a corner and began firing at the Guard soldiers, who were on a high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th and I streets, Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said. Both victims were in critical condition, FBI Director Kash Patel said at a press briefing.

"This is a targeted attack," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

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

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, and officials said the investigation was still in its early stages.

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 would "pay a very steep price" and praised the National Guard.

The shooting unfolded near Farragut Square, a popular lunch spot for office workers just a few blocks away from the White House. The park, whose light posts are wrapped in wreaths and bows for the holiday season, is flanked by fast-casual restaurants and a coffee shop, as well as two metro stops.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene after shots were fired, with pedestrians fleeing.

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

When he made his way back to the scene, he saw two National Guard members on the ground across the street, with people trying to resuscitate one of them. At the same time, other National Guard members had pinned down someone on the ground, Ryan said.

Another witness, Emma McDonald, said she saw one of the Guard members 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 soldiers have been in Washington since August, when Trump deployed them to the streets as part of his crackdown on immigration and crime in Democratic-led cities.

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

Trump, a Republican, has suggested repeatedly that crime has disappeared from the capital as a result of the deployment, which was heavily criticised by Democrats.

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