2 US National Guard members shot near White House

Washington: Two members of the National Guard were shot on Wednesday in a busy area near the White House, officials said, putting the building into lockdown with President Donald Trump away in Florida.

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially said in a post on X that both victims were members of his state's National Guard and had died from their injuries. But he soon posted a second statement that cited "conflicting reports" about their condition.

Trump administration official said the suspected shooter had been transported to a hospital with gunshot wounds. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. Quoting law enforcement sources, CNN reported the suspect appeared to have deliberately targeted the Guard soldiers.

Trump is at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance is in Kentucky.

In a social media post, Trump called the suspected shooter an "animal" who would "pay a very steep price" and praised the National Guard.

The shooting unfolded near Farragut Square, a popular lunch spot for office workers just a few blocks away from the White House. The park, where light posts are wrapped in wreaths and bows for the holiday season, is flanked by fast-casual restaurants and a coffee shop, as well as two metro stops.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene after shots were fired with pedestrians fleeing.

Mike Ryan, 55, said he was on his way to buy lunch nearby when he heard what sounded like gunfire. He ran half a block away and heard another round of apparent gunfire.

When he made his way back to the scene, he saw two National Guard members on the ground across the street, with people trying to resuscitate one of them. At the same time, other National Guard members had pinned someone on the ground, Ryan said.

Another witness, Emma McDonald, said she saw one of the Guard members carried away on a stretcher minutes after the shooting, his head covered in blood and an automated compression system attached to his chest.

National Guard soldiers have been in Washington since August, when Trump deployed them to the streets as part of his contentious immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities.

As of Wednesday, there were about 2,200 National Guard troops in Washington, including contingents from the District of Columbia as well as Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Alabama.

Trump, a Republican, has suggested repeatedly that crime has disappeared from the capital as a result of the deployment, which was opposed by local officials and heavily criticized by Democrats.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters that Trump had asked for 500 additional Guard soldiers to be deployed to Washington in the wake of the shooting.