National Guard member is shot while breaking up a fight in Washington, suspect is hit in return fire
Oct 19, 2026, 4:31 AM
FILE - A member of the National Guard stands watch on Beale St., July 17, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
Credit: AP Photo/George Walker IV
(AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A National Guard member was shot and injured while trying to break up a fight in the nation’s capital, and the person suspected of firing the gun also was shot in an exchange with guard members, police said Monday.
The shooting happened at about 11:10 p.m. Sunday as seven or eight guard members in a parked van were monitoring the fight on a sidewalk in southeast Washington, in the Eastern Market neighborhood, said Jeffery Carroll, interim chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington.
“They exited their vehicle to try to intervene to try to stop the fight from occurring when they heard gunshots,” Carroll told reporters. “An individual that had been involved in the fight had pulled out a firearm and began shooting.”
The person ran into an alley, Carroll said, and guard members immediately told the person to drop the gun.
“The individual then pointed the weapon toward National Guard members, who returned fire,” Carroll said.
He said one guard member was struck in the leg and the suspect was shot in the abdomen. Both were taken to hospitals for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
Three guard members discharged their guns in the encounter, Carroll said. He said the suspect was arrested.
President Donald Trump deployed the guard to Washington in August 2025 as part of what he said was a crime-fighting mission. The force, which rose to a peak of about 5,000 troops over the summer, has supported arrest operations, patrolled city streets and neighborhoods and participated in cleanup efforts.
Trump’s Republican administration says the deployment has contributed to a decrease in crime in the city, where crime was already on the decline before the guard arrived. Officials, activists and residents in the overwhelmingly Democratic city say the deployment is a waste of taxpayer money and has normalized the militarization of a major American city.
The police department is investigating the Sunday night shooting. Carroll said there were no further threats to the community and asked for anyone with information on the shooting to contact police.
