A street fight on Capitol Hill turned into gunfire when National Guard troops stepped in, leaving one Guardsman and the man police say started shooting both wounded.
Story Snapshot
- Guardsmen parked in a van saw a fight on 8th Street SE and moved in to break it up, police say.
- Police say a man in the fight pulled a gun, fired, ignored orders to drop it and pointed it at the troops.
- Three Guard members fired back; the man was hit in the abdomen and one Guardsman was hit in the leg.
- Both were taken to hospitals with injuries that are not life-threatening.
Police Account: Fight, Gun Drawn, Orders Given, Shots Fired
The shooting began shortly after 11 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, in the 400 block of 8th Street SE, police said. About seven or eight Guard members were sitting in a parked van when they saw a fight break out on a nearby sidewalk and got out to stop it. Jeffrey Carroll, the interim chief of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news conference at the scene, “An individual who had been involved in the fight had pulled out a firearm and began shooting.”
Carroll said the Guard members told the man to put the gun down. Instead, police say, he pointed it at them. That is when the troops returned fire. “Three members of the National Guard discharged firearms,” Carroll said. Police have not said which Guardsman’s shots hit the man.
The block sits on Barracks Row, a busy strip of restaurants and shops named for the Marine Barracks nearby, close to Eastern Market and a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. It is a spot where families and late-night diners share the sidewalk.
Injuries And Immediate Response At The Scene
Carroll said one Guardsman was shot in the leg. The man police say opened fire was shot in the abdomen, the belly area. Both were taken to area hospitals, and police said neither injury is life-threatening.
Police have not released the name of the Guardsman or the man who was shot. As of Monday, October 19, police had not announced an arrest or any charges, and they have not released a motive for the fight. Joint Task Force-DC, the military command that runs the Guard mission in the city, did not answer questions about the wounded Guardsman’s unit or service record.
Why The Guard Is On D.C. Streets
President Trump sent the National Guard to Washington more than a year ago as part of a crackdown on crime. The troops help local police patrol the city. As of Saturday, October 17, more than 2,960 Guard members were supporting the mission.
The troops have faced danger before. Last November, two Guardsmen were shot in what officials called an ambush near the White House. One died and the other was badly wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, is charged in that attack and has pleaded not guilty.
Why This Matters For Safety And Order In The Capital
Police say the man in Sunday’s fight had already fired before the troops shot back. By the police account, the Guard members gave clear orders first and fired only after a gun was pointed at them. That is the kind of discipline the mission depends on.
Americans expect safe streets, and they expect the people in uniform to be backed when they step in to protect others. The investigation will lay out the full sequence of shots. The facts police have released describe trained troops who saw a fight, moved toward it, and stopped an armed man on a crowded Capitol Hill block.
Sources:
taskandpurpose.com, nbcwashington.com, thehill.com, dcnewsnow.com, fox4news.com