(Washington) Two National Guard soldiers deployed in Washington were seriously injured Wednesday by gunfire a stone’s throw from the White House, authorities announced, who arrested a suspect, also injured.
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The American governor who announced the death on Wednesday of two National Guard soldiers returned to his statement shortly after, saying he had “conflicting information” on their state of health.
“We are now receiving conflicting information on the condition of our two National Guardsmen and we will keep you informed of the situation when we have more complete information,” Patrick Morrisey, the governor of the state of West Virginia, where they are from, said on X.
The tragedy occurred in the very center of the American capital, invested since August by hundreds of soldiers at the request of Donald Trump and against the advice of local Democratic authorities.
PHOTO NATHAN HOWARD, REUTERS
“The animal that shot the two national guards” is “also seriously injured,” Donald Trump said on his Truth social network. “He will still pay very dearly” for his action, added the American president who is following the situation at his residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he plans to spend Thanksgiving on Thursday.
Police previously said a suspect had been arrested, while emergency services said they had treated three people who had been shot.
AFP journalists saw, two blocks from the White House, a person dressed in a military uniform being evacuated on a stretcher.
Police helicopters were flying over the American capital, according to AFP journalists.
The area was cordoned off and dozens of police vehicles and other local and national security forces were dispatched to the scene.
“Two stretchers”
“We heard gunshots. We were waiting at the red light and there were several shots,” Angela Perry, a 42-year-old security guard, told AFP in the car with her two children.
“You could see members of the National Guard running towards the metro, weapons in hand,” she added.
“We were on our way back when we saw lots of cops and police cars speeding past us,” Mohammed Elkattabi, a 47-year-old sales manager who had just visited the White House with his family, told AFP.
“We saw two stretchers,” continued this tourist who came from Atlanta, in the south of the country, to visit the American capital during the Thanksgiving holiday season.
PHOTO MARK SCHIEFELBEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
His six-year-old son, he said, “learns history at school and he has now been able to see history firsthand,” in a country marked by political violence and gun crime.
Since June, the Republican president has sent the National Guard successively to Los Angeles (west), Washington and Memphis (south), each time against the advice of local Democratic authorities, saying these reinforcements are necessary to fight crime and support the federal immigration police (ICE).
In the American capital, 2,175 soldiers were deployed in mid-November, according to recent military statistics.
The municipality took legal action, accusing the federal executive of exceeding its powers, and the courts ruled in its favor last week.
Justice blocked similar deployments in Chicago (north) and Portland (west) in October until further notice.
The municipality of Washington, with its unique status, is not attached to any American state, and has limited autonomy since Congress has jurisdiction over its affairs.
