President Trump said the suspect came to the U.S. as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2021.
A gunman opened fire Wednesday on two National Guard soldiers just blocks from the White House, critically wounding members of a force brought to Washington as part of President Donald Trump’s deployment of troops to American cities to fight crime.
The two members of the West Virginia National Guard were on an afternoon patrol when they were shot in what Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called a “targeted” attack.
Trump called the attack “an act of evil and act of hatred and an act of terror” in taped remarks later Wednesday.
“It was a crime against our entire nation,” he said.
The gunman, whose name was not released, came to the U.S. as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2021, the president said.
West Virginian Gov. Patrick Morrisey initially said both soldiers were killed but he walked that back in a statement later. Bowser and FBI Director Kash Patel told a news conference that the men were critically wounded.
The suspect is 29 years old, according to media reports, and the motive is unknown. Trump said he came to the U.S. under the mass evacuation of refugees as U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban retook control of the country — and he faulted the Biden administration for inadequate security vetting.
“This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” he said. He called for a reexamination of every Afghan refugee who came into the country under the previous administration.
Jeff Carroll, a D.C. police official, told reporters that the gunman “ambushed” the guard members before he was shot and taken to a hospital. He said there are no other suspects at this time.
Bowser said that she had briefed Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro on the incident.
Morrisey initially wrote on social media that he confirmed the two troops died from their injuries. Twenty minutes later, he retracted that information in a new statement, saying he was “receiving conflicting reports about the condition” of the troops and would provide further updates once he had more information.
National Guard troops have been in Washington since August, when Trump deployed them to the city as part of his crackdown on street crime and a ramp-up of immigration enforcement. In addition to the deployment of the D.C. Guard, several red states — including West Virginia — also sent troops to the nation’s capital to assist with the deployment.
Shortly after the shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Trump had instructed him to deploy an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington.
“This happened just steps away from the White House. It will not stand,” Hegseth told reporters. “And that’s why President Trump has asked me … to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen, to Washington, D.C. This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful.”
Army spokesperson Col. Dave Butler said in a statement the Army “received the request and will rapidly execute.”
Three gunshot victims had been transported to area trauma centers, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said. Trump wrote on social media that the suspect was also “severely wounded” and would “pay a very steep price,” ideas he echoed later in his taped remarks.
“God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People,” Trump wrote. “I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
The White House was locked down as reports of the shooting flooded in, but later reopened. Trump was in Florida at the time.
“The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The President has been briefed.”
Cheyanne M. Daniels, Faith Wardwell and Jack Detsch contributed to this report.