A National Guard member was shot in the leg while trying to break up a fight in south-east Washington DC, with a man believed to have opened fire also wounded in the exchange.
The incident happened at about 11.10pm on Sunday, October 18, in the 400 block of 8th Street SE, near a District of Columbia Fire and EMS station.
Interim police chief Jeffery Carroll said seven or eight National Guard members were travelling in a van when they saw a fight involving several people. The guardsmen got out to intervene, at which point one of those involved allegedly began shooting.
Police said the Guard members ordered the man to put down his weapon. He is then alleged to have pointed the gun towards them, prompting three guardsmen to return fire.
The man was struck in the abdomen. Both he and the injured guardsman were taken to hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to police. The guardsman was later treated and released, while the man was arrested.
Neither person has been publicly identified. Police said there was no continuing threat to the community.
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.
Police believe the original altercation began inside a nearby establishment. Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Department.
