Washington, 27 November 2025 (dpa/MIA) - FBI Director Kash Patel and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday said that two members of the National Guard who were shot in Washington earlier in the day are in critical condition but not dead, as West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey had initially stated.

The two members of the National Guard were shot near the Farragut West metro station, not far from the White House, at about 2:15 pm (1915 GMT), authorities said in a press conference about two and a half hours after the incident.

"Please send your prayers to those brave warriors who are in critical condition and their families," Patel told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, calling the shooting a "heinous act of violence."

Bowser said that she also was sending her "thoughts and prayers to the families of the guardsmen and to the guardsmen who are in critical condition in a local hospital."

The DC mayor spoke of a "targeted shooting. One individual who appeared to target these guardsmen, that individual has been taken into custody."

Executive Assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department Jeffery Carroll said that "members of the DC National Guard were on a high visibility patrol... when a suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard members."

Carroll added that the suspect was subdued by other members of the National Guard and then arrested.

"At this time, there is no indication that there is any other suspect," he said. "The one suspect that was involved in this incident, they were shot during the interaction and they were transported to the hospital for treatment."

About 90 minutes after the shooting, Morrisey said on social media that "both members of the West Virginia National Guard who were shot earlier today in Washington, DC have passed away from their injuries." Half an hour later, he posted that he was receiving "conflicting reports" about the condition of the two members.

"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," Morrisey said in a post on social media platforms X and Facebook.

"Our prayers are with these brave service members, their families, and the entire Guard community."

Numerous soldiers in the capital since the summer

More than 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed in Washington for months. Trump ordered them to the capital in August, citing allegedly rampant crime as the reason for their mobilisation. Crime statistics do not support this claim.

The capital took legal action against the deployment. A federal judge recently declared the deployment of the National Guard unlawful and ordered it to be terminated.

However, she suspended her decision for three weeks to allow the Trump administration to appeal. The order therefore remains in effect until 11 December.

The National Guard is a military reserve unit and part of the US armed forces. It is normally under the check of the states and is deployed in the event of natural disasters, riots or other emergencies.

In certain situations, however, the US president can also take command. Special rules apply to Washington.

Photo: X