There were conflicting reports about two National Guard soldiers being hit by gunfire in Washington, not far from the White House. “We have received conflicting reports regarding the condition of two of our National Guard members and will provide further updates once we receive more complete information,” West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said after announcing that the two service members had died.
On the eve of Thanksgiving, the most important holiday for Americans, terror strikes downtown Washington. Two blocks from the White House, in an area that has been busy with local and international tourists especially in recent days, a man opened fire at around 15:00 local time (21:00 in Italy) and wounded two soldiers of the National Guard, a force deployed by Donald Trump to fight crime in the city.
The president was not at his residence at the time of the attack but was at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, for a weekend getaway. The suspect, who was also seriously injured, was arrested in less than half an hour, also thanks to the large number of police forces usually circulating in the Washington area.
The dynamics of the shooting remain unclear. According to CNN, the military opened fire first and was then hit. So they may have intervened to prevent a massacre or they may themselves have been the target of an attack. Since August, when the president sent more than 2,000 National Guard troops to the capital, no incidents have occurred. But tensions are high in Washington, as in other US cities “militarized” by Trump. Residents of the capital are now accustomed to seeing armed soldiers wearing bulletproof vests roaming the streets. Some approached them for photos or even thanked them “for their service.” However, there are also those who dislike their presence because they associate it with the crackdown on immigration and raids by anti-migrant agents, even though there is no real connection, and also because the soldiers cannot make arrests.
“The animal that shot two National Guardsmen will pay a very high price,” the president warned in a post on Truth from Florida, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday. “God bless our Great National Guard and our entire military and law enforcement. They are truly extraordinary people. I am with you!”, he added before learning of the deaths of the two soldiers.
Bureau Director Kash Patel assured maximum commitment and Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on
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