It’s understood a suspect has also been shot and is in custody.
A statement from the White House press office said that the White House had gone into lockdown. President Donald Trump was at his West Palm Beach golf course when the shooting took place.
The Irish Embassy in Washington DC has also been closed in the wake of the shooting.
“The Embassy is currently closed to visitors due to an ongoing security incident in the area, which has resulted in a number of street closures. Citizens in the area should heed the advice of the local authorities,” the embassy said in a statement.
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 citing “conflicting reports” about their condition.
Emergency vehicles were seen responding to the area and at least one helicopter landed on the National Mall.
The shooting happened at the corner of 17th and H Streets in the northwest quadrant of the city, roughly two blocks northwest of the White House.
A 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.
In a social media post, Trump called the suspected shooter an “animal” who would “pay a very steep price” and praised the National Guard.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump has asked for 500 additional troops to be deployed to Washington, D.C., after two National Guard members were shot in the city.
“This happened just steps from the White House and it will not stand and that’s why President Trump has asked me -and I will ask the secretary of the Army to the National Guard- to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen, to Washington, D.C.,” Hegseth said.
Emergency medical responders transported all three victims to a hospital, according to Vito Maggiolo, the public information officer for the DC Fire and Emergency Services.
The Joint DC Task Force confirmed they were responding to an incident in the vicinity of the White House in the movements after reports of the shooting.
However, the spokesperson wouldn’t immediately confirm or deny if any National Guard members had been shot.
The Metropolitan Police Department said they were responding to a shooting but didn’t immediately provide more information.
National Guard members walk near a cordoned-off area after two National Guard members were shot dead near the White House in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Wednesday, November 26
A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser said that local leaders were actively monitoring the situation.
“The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation. The President has been briefed,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Hundreds of National Guard members from the district and several states have been patrolling the nation’s capital after President Donald Trump in August issued an emergency order in the capital, federalizing the local police force and sending in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday that flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were briefly paused following the shooting of two members of the National Guard near the White House. The ground stop temporarily “paused arrivals into Reagan Washington International Airport because of the locations of aircraft involved in responding to today’s shooting incident,” the FAA said in a statement. “Normal operations have resumed.”
The brief disruption came a day before Thanksgiving, which is among the busiest periods of the year for air travel in the United States.
