Two National Guard Members Shot Near White House

The White House went into lockdown on Wednesday following reports that National Guard troops were shot nearby in downtown Washington, DC. The Associated Press was first to report that two National Guard members were shot and that their conditions were not yet known.

“The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation. The President has been briefed,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Reporting came in soon after the news broke that a suspect is in custody, although their identity is not yet known. President Donald Trump posted to social media saying the suspect, whom he called an “animal,” was severely injured.

MS NOW anchor Katy Tur broke the story live on air, saying, “We want to get to out of Washington, D.C. A Secret Service spokesman tells MS NOW that two National Guard members were involved in a shooting near the White House this afternoon. At least one of them was struck, and the White House is currently on lockdown. Joining us, MS NOW justice and intelligence reporter Ken Dilanian, and along with MS NOW national security and intelligence analyst and former FBI supervisor Rob D’Amico. So Ken, what exactly do we know?”

“Basically, just what you said, Katy. This shooting, I’m told, occurred near the White House in a place called Farragut Square in downtown D.C. We’re seeing video on social media of police rushing to the scene. I checked in with the Secret Service because they protect the White House and was told that two uniformed National Guard members were involved in a shooting. At least one of them was struck. Their condition is not known. The nature of the incident was not known by this person. It’s being handled by the D.C. police, not the Secret Service, because they’ve decided there’s no nexus to the White House, no threat to the White House. So the circumstances of this incident are unclear,” Dilanian replied, adding:

Remember, of course, that uniformed National Guard are regularly patrolling the streets of Washington, having been deployed there by President Trump. That’s subject to a legal fight, actually. Five days ago, a judge ordered the Trump administration to halt that deployment. That’s still being litigated. But again, so all we know is that two uniformed National Guard members involved in a shooting. One was struck. The condition of that person is unknown at this time.

“Yeah, so the AP is reporting that two National Guard members were struck, the two that were involved. Again, that differs a little bit from our reporting. We’ll see if that gets updated. Ken, you were saying that your sources have said there’s no nexus. The FBI is saying no nexus. What does that mean?” Tur followed up.

“The Secret Service, meaning there’s no angle for them to investigate this. They’ve already concluded there was no threat to the White House or the president. It’s a shooting that occurred in D.C., and so it’s being investigated and responded to by the D.C. police, not by the Secret Service. It remains to be seen—I’ve also checked in with the FBI. It’s unclear at this point whether they will get involved. But right now the D.C. police is responding, Katy,” explained Dilanian.

Watch the clip above via MS NOW.