Washington – Shocking news from the USA: There were shots fired near the White House. Two National Guard members were critically injured. The suspected shooter is now in custody. Now there are first details about the shooting.
The crime scene is just two blocks away from the most famous seat of government in the world, the White House. Some National Guard forces are stationed there as planned. As witnesses report, two shots were fired at around 2:20 p.m. (local time). Seconds later: chaos. People are screaming, running in all directions in panic, while sirens are wailing and dozens of police are pouring out.
Members of the National Guard and numerous police cordoned off the block while the suspected perpetrator was arrested after an exchange of gunfire
Rifle recovered at crime scene
Two National Guardsmen are seriously injured on the ground – one is said to have suffered a gunshot wound to the head. In the meantime, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey declared that the soldiers had died – he corrected this statement shortly afterwards.
As several US media reports, there was apparently an exchange of fire between police officers and the perpetrator. The suspect who was shot was in police custody as of 3 p.m. According to US President Donald Trump, he is seriously injured and is in hospital.
Police officers later recovered a rifle from the scene. This is presumably the murder weapon that was used in the shooting at the National Guard.
Here the suspected shooter, who is seriously injured, is loaded into the ambulance
After the shooting became known, Washington was in a state of emergency. Until the situation was under control, aircraft landings were stopped. At Reagan National Airport, dozens of planes circled the sky until the all-clear was given. The White House was also briefly cordoned off.
JD Vance: Motive still unclear
Neither President Trump nor his deputy, JD Vance, were in Washington at the time of the shooting. According to Vance, who is currently visiting soldiers at Fort Campbell (Kentucky), the background to the shooting is unclear. “We don’t know the motive yet,” said JD Vance. “There’s a lot we haven’t figured out yet.”
Apparently it was a targeted attack and a lone perpetrator, as the mayor explained on Wednesday afternoon. The FBI is involved in the investigation. The director assured that they would share more information with the public as soon as it became available.
An eyewitness filmed a person, presumably the suspect, being overpowered by the police
There were previously threats against the National Guard
As the Washington Post reports, there have been several threats against the National Guard in Washington in the past. Court documents document several incidents in which soldiers were threatened with death and with firearms during patrols.
After the incidents became known, President Donald Trump reacted immediately: He requested additional forces and ordered the deployment of 500 more National Guard troops to Washington, as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed.