DC Guard Deployment Continues After New Shooting

A National Guard member was shot in the leg late Sunday while trying to break up a fight in Southeast Washington, D.C., police said Monday. The service member and the suspected shooter went to hospital, and neither had injuries considered life-threatening. Guard soldiers were monitoring a group gathered on a sidewalk when the incident unfolded.

The Shooting

The shooting happened around 11:10 p.m. EDT in the 400 block of 8th Street SE, interim Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Jeffrey Caroll said. Seven or eight National Guard soldiers watched the group when a fight broke out. The troops left their vehicles to intervene. As they approached, they heard gunshots, Caroll said at an early-morning news conference.

Police said one suspect involved in the altercation opened fire. Guard members told the person to drop the weapon. “That individual then pointed the weapon towards National guard members, who returned fire,” the police chief said.

Three service members fired their weapons and struck the suspected gunman in the abdomen. A Guard member also took a bullet in the leg. Police haven't released the suspected gunman’s identity. Caroll said it wasn't immediately clear which member fired the shot that struck the suspected gunman.

The injured Guard member and suspected shooter both went to hospital. Police said neither had injuries considered life-threatening. Caroll said there were “no further threats to the community.”

Investigation and Deployment

MPD’s Internal Affairs Division and Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the shooting. The police account names those divisions as the investigators and says officers haven't released the suspect’s identity. Caroll also said officials couldn't determine which Guard member struck the suspected gunman, leaving that part of the incident unresolved in the information provided Monday.

The soldiers first deployed to the nation’s capital last year to help tackle crime. Earlier this year, officials extended their stay through the 2029 presidential inauguration. Police said soldiers were monitoring a sidewalk gathering when a fight began and they stepped in.

Earlier Guard Shooting

The incident came nearly a year after two National Guard members were shot and injured blocks from the White House. One died; the other was critically wounded, according to the account. The article gives no further details about that earlier shooting.

Police described the sequence: soldiers watched a group, a fight broke out, and the troops left their vehicles to intervene. Gunfire followed as they approached. Police said a suspect pointed a weapon toward Guard members after they ordered the person to drop it. Three service members fired, striking the suspected gunman in the abdomen, while a Guard member was hit in the leg.

MPD’s Internal Affairs Division and Criminal Investigation Division continue to investigate. Police haven't identified the suspected shooter or determined which Guard member fired the shot that struck that person. The soldiers’ deployment to Washington, first undertaken to help tackle crime, remains extended through the 2029 presidential inauguration.