News Beat
Everything we know about suspected DC shooter: Suspect in custody after two National Guard members hurt
President Donald Trump ripped into the suspect who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon in what officials are calling a “targeted” attack.
Trump warned that the “animal” who carried out the shooting “will pay a very steep price.”
The guardsmen from West Virginia were shot just north of the White House shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday. The identity and motive of the suspected shooter remain unclear. Trump had deployed more than 2,000 National Guard troops to D.C. in August to crack down on crime. The move was controversial and angered some residents.
Here is everything we know about the shooting so far:
What happened?
Shots were fired just north of the White House and near the Farragut West Metro Station.
Jeffery Carroll, executive assistant chief at the Metropolitan Police Department, told reporters late Wednesday afternoon that the guardsmen had been patrolling the area when the suspected shooter came around the corner, raised his arm with a gun and fired at the soldiers.
Other troops and law enforcement in the area were able to bring the suspect into custody.
The other guardsmen had “heard the gunfire. They actually were able to intervene and to kind of hold down the suspect after he had been shot on the ground.”
Carroll said the suspect was shot during the incident, and that both the guardsmen and the suspect were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
It’s unclear who shot the suspect, police say.
Witness Michael Ryan said he was in “disbelief” when he heard gunfire.
“I was across the street when the first round of shots were fired,” Ryan told reporters. “Little bit of disbelief, but people started running, cars started speeding off as well.”
Who is the shooter?
Police believe there was only one suspect involved in the shooting.
“We have reviewed video from the area. It appears like I said, to be a lone gunman that raised the firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard,” Carroll said.
It’s unclear what type of weapon the suspect used in the shooting.
Details about the suspect are still unknown as “he’s still in the hospital receiving treatment,” Carroll said.
What condition are the guardsmen in?
The guardsmen are in critical condition, officials said late Wednesday afternoon, clearing up some earlier confusion.
Earlier Wednesday, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced that the soldiers had died.
“It is with great sorrow that we can confirm both members of the West Virginia National Guard who were shot earlier today in Washington, DC have passed away from their injuries,” Morrisey wrote on X.
In a follow-up post, the governor said, “We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information.”
What have officials said about the shooting?
Trump, who is at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, wrote on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon: “The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price.
“God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters following the shooting that Trump has asked him to add 500 more troops to the nation’s capital.
“This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful,” Hegseth said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in an X post, “Please join me in praying for the two National Guardsmen who were just shot moments ago in Washington D.C.”
Noem said the agency is “working with local law enforcement to gather more information.”
FBI Director Kash Patelsaid in an X post that the agency is “engaged and assisting” in the investigation into the shooting.
He later said at a press conference that “the reason that this suspect is in custody is because of the bravery of the men and women of the National Guard who responded. Due to their extensive training to secure American lives, today, there was not any further injury and any further shooting.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the shooting “horrific and unconscionable.”
“We can confirm that a suspect is in custody for this targeted shooting and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Bowser wrote on X. “Our prayers are with the victims and their loved ones.”
Why is the National Guard in D.C.?
The National Guard has been in the nation’s capital for months after Trump declared a crime emergency, despite violent crime declining in recent years.
Troops have patrolled metro stations and picked up trash during their deployment.
Last Thursday, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of troops exceeded the president’s legal authority. But the order would not go into effect for 21 days to give the Trump administration time to appeal, which it did on Tuesday.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement shared by CBS News that D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s lawsuit against the administration is “nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of DC residents — to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC.”
Several states aside from West Virginia sent troops to D.C. to help in Trump’s crackdown, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina and Georgia.
West Virginia had sent more than 400 troops. The Associated Press reported that about 160 of those guardsmen volunteered last week to extend their deployment through December, while others went home.
This is a developing story…
