National Guard Member Shot in DC Fight Intervention as 1 Suspect Is Also Wounded

Q: Why did a routine street fight escalate into a shootout with the National Guard in the nation's capital?

It escalated because a person involved in the fight allegedly pulled a gun when National Guard members stepped in, then kept firing after being ordered to drop the weapon. According to Metropolitan Police Department interim Chief Jeffery Carroll, seven or eight Guard members were in a van near the 400 block of 8th Street SE in the Eastern Market area around 11:10 p.m. when they saw a sidewalk fight and got out to break it up. During that intervention, one participant drew a firearm and opened fire. Guard members told the person to drop the gun, but police say the suspect fired again and pointed the weapon at them, prompting three Guard members to return fire. That sequence turned what appears to have been a routine street altercation into an armed confrontation with uniformed personnel. One Guard member was shot in the leg, and the suspect was hit in the abdomen. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were expected to survive. The suspect was hospitalized and placed in custody. What is still not known is why the original fight started. Police said the people involved may have been inside a nearby establishment earlier in the evening, but investigators have not established the trigger for the dispute. Authorities are also still trying to determine which Guard member’s gunfire struck the suspect. The case remains under investigation, and police are seeking witnesses and others involved in the initial fight.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 19

Sunday night in Washington, a National Guard member was shot during an incident in which troops tried to break up a fight, according to DC police.
1 suspect was also shot, Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said, though authorities did not immediately detail who fired the shots or the conditions of those wounded.
The episode remains a breaking story, with police yet to release further circumstances, possible charges or additional injuries.