A police officer walks in a cordoned-off area after two National Guard members were reportedly shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
An FBI member walks in a cordoned-off area after two National Guard members were reportedly shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
U.S. Park Police and National Guard members stand with the Washington Monument in the background as people protest against the Trump administration outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 15, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis
National Guard members stand in a cordoned-off area after two National Guard members were reportedly shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Onlookers watch as law enforcement officers gather after two National Guard members were reportedly shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

By Leah Douglas, Phil Stewart and Jana Winter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two National Guard soldiers were shot on Wednesday near the White House in what officials described as a targeted ambush, and the suspect was in custody after suffering gunshot wounds during the attack.

President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the attack, which prompted the White House to go into lockdown as law enforcement from multiple federal and city agencies swarmed the area.

The Guard soldiers were part of a "high-visibility patrol" around 2:15 p.m. ET (1915 GMT) near the corner of 17th and I streets, a few blocks from the White House, when the suspect came around a corner and "ambushed" them, Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said at a press briefing.

After an exchange of gunfire, other Guard members were able to subdue the suspect, he said. The two wounded soldiers were in critical condition at local hospitals, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

"This is a targeted attack," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the briefing.

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey had 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.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, but officials said they believe the shooter acted alone. The identities of the suspect and the victims have not been made public.

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.

WITNESSES DESCRIBE CHAOTIC SCENE

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.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas, Idrees Ali, Jeff Mason, Steve Gorman, Jasper Ward, Kanishka Singh, Phil Stewart, Ted Hesson, David Morgan and Jana Winter; Writing by Joseph Ax; editing by Susan Heavey, Paul Thomasch, Cynthia Osterman and Deepa Babington)