2 National Guard Members Shot and Killed Near the White House, 1 Suspect in Custody

Two members of the U.S. National Guard were shot and killed in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, November 26, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X (formerly Twitter).

“Please join me in praying for the two National Guardsmen who were just shot moments ago in Washington D.C.,” Noem, 53, tweeted at 2:58 p.m. “@DHSgov is working with local law enforcement to gather more information.”

While there are little details currently available regarding the incident, the DC Police Department have asked people (via X) to avoid the area around 17th and I Street, NW, where the shooting occurred.

In a follow-up tweet, the department wrote, “The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody.”

Law enforcement sources told CNN that two National Guardsmen engaged in gunfire with the assailant prior to being shot and said the suspect was transported from the scene by stretcher.

According to the news outlet, President Donald Trump — who left D.C. on Tuesday, November 25, to travel to Mar-a-Lago for the Thanksgiving holiday — has been briefed on the matter.

“The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The President has been briefed.”

Per USA Today, the White House is on lockdown.

“There were tense moments around Farragut Square in the minutes after the shooting,” a New York Times reporter said in the publication’s live updates. “At one point, heavily armed police officers about a block and a half away started yelling to pedestrians to go inside. Later, at 18th Street, two men on e-bikes rode past the Secret Service officers blocking access to I Street; the officers ran after them, shouting, until they turned around.”

Vito Maggiolo, a fire department spokesman, told the Times that three victims were taken to trauma centers. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said in a statement, per NYT, that the two members of the Guard who were shot have died.