TRANSCRIPT:
"Apparently there was a shooting outside the White House just a couple of hours ago. And we're still learning everything. We still don't know the motive. There's a lot that we haven't yet figured out."
That's U-S Vice-President J-D Vance at an appearance in Kentucky, reacting to news of a shooting near the White House in Washington D-C.
Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from the scene.
But Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief, Jeffery Carroll, says they believe this was a targeted attack.
"Members of the DC National Guard were on high visibility patrols in the area of 17th and I Street Northwest when a suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard Members."
A-B-C America News cameraman, Chris, was there.
"What I heard were you know, 'pop pop pop'. You know, it could have been a steel plate or something. There's a lot of construction and thing going around. So I just thought that maybe it was some plates going on or something like that. But then boom boom boom. And then I'm starting to hear these big guns. Then I'm like, okay - something is going on."
The soldiers have been identified as National Guardsmen from West Virginia, part of the deployment ordered by President Donald Trump to the nation's capital.
More than 300 West Virginia National Guard members were deployed in August - and last week, about 160 of them volunteered to extend their stay until the end of the year while others returned to West Virginia just over a week ago.
The medical condition of the two guardsmen remains unclear.
But this news report from Live FOX shared a sad update from the state's governor, Patrick Morrisey.
"We are learning from the Governor of West Virginia Patrick Morrisey saying 'it is with great sorrow we can confirm both members of the West Viriginia National Guard who were shot earlier today in Washington DC have passed away from their injuries.'"
The West Virginia governor later walked back the statement, saying his office was receiving conflicting reports about their condition.
In any case, agents from the U-S Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have been swarming over the scene, as National Guard troops stand sentry nearby.
Former F-B-I Director Andrew McCabe has told C-N-N this is standard practice.
"Just knowing there has been a shooting in that area, as Chief pointed out, you've got so many different agencies that are overlapping each other in that space. DC Metro PD clearly in the lead here - this is their turf. But you're in between the White House where you have Secret Service. You've got Park Police - they have locations that they are responsible for all over the city. You've got other federal agencies like the FBI. So you've got the capability of a massive response."
Metropolitan Police Chief Carroll says a suspect has been taken into custody.
He says he was also shot and that his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
"The National Guard members, they were able to after, some back and forth, able to subdue the individual and bring them into custody within moments. Members of law enforcement in the area were also able to assist and bring that individual into custody."
Donald Trump was at his West Palm Beach golf course ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, as the incident unfolded.
The President posted on his Truth Social website that he wants the perpetrator - who he called an "animal" - to pay a heavy price for the shooting.
The presence of the National Guard in the nation's capital has been a flashpoint issue for months, fuelling a court fight and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration's use of the military to combat what officials like Pege Hegseth have cast as an out-of-control crime problem.
"This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C. safe and beautiful. The drop in crime has been historic."
Critics of the deployment - like Illinois governor JB Pritzer - have said the Trump Administration is targeting districts that oppose the president politically.
"We've seen at every turn that they've tried to militarise our cities... What is the purpose of that? It's all a show."
Authorities says it's too early to say if the motive for the shooting is connected to these issues - though there has been concern about rising levels of politically-related violence across the country.
Vice President Vance says the incident is a reminder of the Guard's visibility and importance.
"It's a sombre reminder that soldiers, whether they're active duty, Reserve, or National Guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America."
