National Guard Member Shot in DC After Troops Intervene in Street Fight
A National Guard member was shot in the leg late Sunday after troops intervened in a sidewalk fight in Washington, DC, an exchange of gunfire that also left the suspected gunman wounded and brought renewed scrutiny to the military deployment in the capital.
What happened on 8th Street
The encounter occurred about 11:10 p.m. on October 18 in the 400 block of 8th Street SE, in the Eastern Market neighborhood, according to the Associated Press. Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said seven or eight Guard members were traveling in a van when they saw a fight involving several people and got out to intervene.
One person involved in the altercation drew a firearm and began shooting, according to Carroll’s account. The Guard members ordered the person to drop the weapon, but the individual pointed it toward the troops instead. Three Guard members returned fire. The Guard member was struck in the leg and the suspect was hit in the abdomen. Both were taken to hospital with injuries described as not life-threatening, and both were expected to survive.
The injured Guard member was later treated and released, while the suspect was taken into custody. Police said there was no continuing threat to the public. The Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division and Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the shooting, including the circumstances in which the Guard members discharged their weapons.
Questions for the deployment
Investigators believe the original fight may have started inside a nearby establishment, and police have appealed for witnesses to come forward. The shooting lands as crime dominates the midterm campaign debate, and as Trump asks voters to treat the midterms as a vote on him.
The National Guard deployment in Washington has continued for more than a year, and Sunday’s gunfire is the most serious incident involving the troops to date. How the investigation unfolds, and what it says about the rules for troops policing civilian streets, will shape the debate over the mission’s future.
