2 National Guard troops critical after shooting near White House, Afghan national in custody | Top points

United States President Donald Trump warned that the suspect will have to pay a “very steep price”.

Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot just blocks away from the White House on Wednesday, an incident that left the country in shock. The suspect has been taken into the custody, and has reportedly been identified as an Afghan migrant.

Streets are blocked after two National Guard soldiers were shot near the White House in Washington at around 2:15 pm on Wednesday (local time). (AP)

Both the injured soldiers are in hospital and their condition remains critical, said Federal Bureau of Investigation chief Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser during a press conference.

United States President Donald Trump was not present in DC at the time of the shooting. He was in Florida ahead of Thanksgiving.

Here's all you need to know about the Washington DC shooting:

• The shooting happened on Wednesday just about two blocks away from the White House near a metro station, triggering chaos among the people present there.
• While the lone shooter has been taken into custody, the motive behind the violent attack remains unknown. According to executive assistant DC police chief Jeffrey Carroll, the attacker “came around the corner” and started shooting at the troops.
• The suspect taken into custody was identified as an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021, reported news agency AP. The suspect was also shot, a law enforcement official was quoted as saying, but the injuries weren't life-threatening.
• The National Guard troops were posted near the corner of 17th and I streets, just a few blocks away from the White House, when the attack took place at around 2:15 pm on Wednesday (local time), according to authorities. After an exchange of gunfire, other Guard members managed to subdue the suspect, he added.
• Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack as a “targeted shooting”.
• “It appears to be a lone gunman that raised a firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard,” said Carroll, adding that at this point, they have no other suspects.
• Nearby areas were cordoned off with yellow tape after authorities reached the spot. The White House and Treasury Department were also put on lockdown after the attack.
• Carroll said that both DC Police and federal law enforcement will work hand in hand to probe the shooting.
• United States President Donald Trump warned that the suspect will have to pay a “very steep price”. “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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
• West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said in a post on X that the troops who were shot had died. However, just minutes later, he retracted and said that they were “receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members”.
• After the shooting, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said that President Donald Trump has directed the deployment of 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington DC. “If criminals want to conduct things like this — violence against America's best — we will NEVER back down,” he said.

(With inputs from wires)