Two members of the US National Guards were shot near the White House in Washington on Wednesday and are in a critical condition.
FBI director Kash Patel confirmed that the two soldiers had been taken to hospital after the incident at Farragut West metro station.
Washington police said that a suspect – a lone gunman - was in custody. US President Donald Trump said the suspect had been severely injured and called the incident an “act of terror”.
The man taken into custody after the daylight shooting two blocks from the White House was “a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan”, Mr Trump said, citing the Homeland Security department.
The suspect had arrived in 2021 “on those infamous flights”, he said, referring to the evacuations of Afghans fleeing as the Taliban took over the country in the wake of the US retreat under the Biden administration after 20 years of war.
In what appeared to be a threat to intensify recent anti-immigration efforts, Mr Trump gave warning of what would follow Wednesday's shooting. "We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here... if they can't love our country we don't want them."
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey had said in a social media post that the soldiers, part of the state's National Guard, had been killed, but then later withdrew that statement.
“We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information,” he said on social media.
Mr Patel said at the scene: “As you can see behind me, we have assembled the full force of both the federal and state and local law enforcement agencies to bring to bear all of our resources to make sure we find the perpetrators responsible for this heinous act. We will run down every single lead, every piece of evidence.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser called the incident a “targeted shooting”.
“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan” under former president Joe Biden, said Mr Trump.
“We must take all necessary measures to endure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country if they can't love our country, we don't want them,” he said.
After the shooting, Mr Trump voiced his support for the members of the National Guard posted in the city. “These are truly great people. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the office of the presidency, am with you,” he wrote on Truth Social.
A police representative said that a person had come around a corner and attacked the National Guards members, who were on patrol. Other soldiers in the area responded to the shots and were able to subdue the gunman and take him into custody.
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Police at the scene after two members of the US National Guard were shot near the White House in Washington. Reuters -
Evidence is gathered after the shooting. Reuters -
The scene near the shooting at the Farragut West metro station in Washington. Kyle Fitzgerald / The National -
Dozens of law-enforcement vehicles arrived after reports of shots fired near the metro. Kyle Fitzgerald / The National -
An ambulance at the Washington scene where two National Guardsmen were shot. Kyle Fitzgerald / The National -
A Homeland Security Investigations officer on the scene of the shooting. AFP -
National Guard members stand in a cordoned-off area. Reuters -
National Guard soldiers stand near the scene of the shooting. AP -
National Guard patrol along the National Mall in front of the Capitol. AP -
Members of the National Guard move through Union Station. Getty Images / AFP -
Members of the National Guard clean an area of Washington. EPA
After the shooting, The National saw one person in military fatigues taken away on a medical stretcher.
Dozens of law enforcement vehicles were on the scene. A helicopter circled above the area near the metro. A group of about 10 National Guards soldiers were near the site.
More than 2,000 members of the National Guard have been posted in Washington since the summer, on orders from the White House.
The White House has said the move was needed amid a surge in violent crime, although city officials say it has been decreasing in recent years.
The armed soldiers often patrol metro stations in pairs or small groups.
The order was originally meant to last 30 days but has been extended. A federal judge has ordered an end to the posting but the administration is appealing.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said he had requested another 500 troops to be posted in the Washington area.
“This will only stiffen our resolve. We will never back down,” Mr Hegseth said. “We will secure our capital, we will secure our cities.”
