Two National Guard members shot dead near White House

The suspect is in custody, police have said

Two US National Guard members were fatally shot just block from the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

“The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody,” the police said in a follow up message on X. They called on people to avoid the area.

President Donald Trump has condemned the shooting on Truth Social.

“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,” he said in a statement.

Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington, DC, and other US cities earlier this year in what he called a crackdown on rampant crime in Democrat-run cities.

The move has been condemned by his critics as blatant overreach. Last month, ‘No Kings’ protests were held in several cities, including the capital, in opposition to the National Guard deployments and Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

A White House official confirmed to the media that the White House is on lockdown. Trump is currently in Florida, where he is spending Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago estate.