By:Caity Coyne
West Virginia Watch
Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot while on deployment in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, according to a statement from Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
In a news briefing around 4:45 p.m., FBI director Kash Patel said the two victims were “in critical condition.”
That announcement came after previous conflicting reports from Morrisey regarding their status.
Morrisey initially posted on social media at 3:33 p.m. that one of the victims was dead and another sent to the hospital following the shooting. He then announced at 3:42 p.m. that both members of the West Virginia National Guard were dead.
In a third post at 4:04 p.m., however, Morrisey said he was receiving “conflicting reports” about the condition of the West Virginia National Guard members.
“… [The state] will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information,” Morrisey continued.
The shooting took place blocks from the White House around 2:15 p.m. According to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, the scene was secure and one suspect was in custody at 2:58 p.m.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a news briefing that the incident was “a targeted shooting” perpetrated by one person.
“What we know … is that this is a targeted shooting — one individual who appeared to target these Guardsmen,” Bowser said. “That individual has been taken into custody.”
President Donald Trump was in Florida on Wednesday but was briefed on the shooting, White House officials said. In social media posts, Trump said the perpetrator was an “animal” and was “also severely wounded” in the incident. Regardless, he continued, the shooter will “pay a very steep price.”
“God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement,” Trump said. “These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
The shooting comes less than a week after a federal judge ruled that the deployment of National Guard troops from several states to Washington, D.C. at the request of Trump was illegal. The Trump administration was given until Dec. 11 to pull troops out or file an appeal to the ruling.
Morrisey announced in August that he would be sending 300-400 members of the West Virginia National Guard to Washington D.C. after Trump declared a “public safety emergency” in the nation’s capital. That declaration ended in September, but troops have remained in the district.
In late September, a spokesperson for the state’s National Guard said members could remain in D.C. through November.
Earlier this year, the West Virginia Citizen Action Group filed a lawsuit against Morrisey and the West Virginia National Guard regarding West Virginia troops being deployed to D.C. CAG was represented by the West Virginia arm of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU attorneys argued that the deployment by Morrisey was unlawful and an abuse of state powers that allow the governor to activate National Guard troops for matters outside of the state only under limited circumstances. They said the ongoing deployment was causing real and irreparable harm to people in West Virginia.
Attorneys for the state of West Virginia countered that CAG, the plaintiff, was not facing any real or clear harm from the deployment. The only parties who could claim to be “directly harmed” due to the National Guard deployment, the state argued, are residents of D.C. or members of the Guard themselves.
Attorneys with the ACLU were asking the court for a temporary injunction that would have seen all West Virginia National Guard members deployed to D.C. sent home.
On Nov. 10, Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Richard Lindsay sided with the state of West Virginia and dismissed the case, meaning troops remained in D.C.
This is a developing story and more will be reported as information becomes available.