Two members of the National Guard who were shot in Washington, D.C. were from West Virginia.
The Eastern Panhandle’s Musselman High School, in a social media post, expressed deep concern for one of the victims, described as a graduate.
“Andrew Wolfe, was one of the National Guardsmen injured in the shooting in Washington, D.C. today. Andrew is currently in critical condition and undergoing surgery,” the school posted.
“Please keep Andrew, his family, and all those affected in your thoughts. We will share updates as we receive them.”
The post appeared to have been taken down overnight.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey initially said both Guard members were killed, but he later said he was getting “conflicting reports” about their condition.
Later in the evening, in a video message, Morrisey said he had spoken with President Trump.
“This was an act of unspeakable violence. Our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers, go out to the brave service members who are enduring this terrible tragedy,” Morrisey said.
“We’re going to work hard. With West Virginia, I know the state stands behind the Guard. I know the president, who I just spoke to, stands behind these courageous service members and our state to get through these difficult times. Just know, we’re going to keep working to make sure justice is served.”
FBI director Kash Patel, at a briefing, said the two members of the National Guard were in critical condition.
“Please send your prayers to those brave warriors who are in critical condition, and their families. They are here serving our country, and protecting our country. They are the heroes of this day,” Patel said.
D.C. police said they had one suspect in custody, an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal. The shooting happened at the corner of 17th and I Streets NW.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the attack a “targeted shooting.”
Jeffrey Carroll, the executive assistant chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said the suspect in the shooting came around a corner, raised his gun and fired at Guardsmen who were gathered at the location near a Metro stop.
“The suspect came around the corner; he immediately started firing at the two National Guard members,” Carroll said at a briefing.
“At that time, there were other National Guard members in the area who were in the area. They heard the gunfire. They actually were able to intervene and to kind of hold down the suspect after he had been shot, on the ground, until law enforcement was able to get there.”
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Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., expressed concern and sorrow.
“Those two brave individuals who are fighting for their life right now, we are praying on this Thanksgiving that we have some good news,” Capito said in a cable television interview.
“But they were targeted. They’re peacekeepers. They were sent to Washington to help maintain the peace in our nation’s capital.”
Senator Jim Justice, R-W.Va., said in a cable news interview that all West Virginians are praying for the National Guard service members.
“They’re heroes. They’re warriors,” he said. “But they’re also brothers and sisters and absolutely they’re husbands and wives, and they give so much to all of us it’s off the chart. They’re the greatest of the greatest in my book and we have to keep these two wonderful, wonderful people in our prayers that they’re going to be OK some way, somehow.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration is deploying an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., in response to the shootings.
On August 11, President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” for the District of Columbia, and five days later Governor Morrisey deployed 300 to 400 members of the West Virginia National Guard for support.
The president’s emergency declaration, which placed the Metropolitan Police Department under federal direction, expired after 30 days, Sept. 10, but the National Guard presence continued.
About 2,000 members of the National Guard, overall, have been deployed to Washington, D.C., to patrol on the National Mall, in Metro public transportation stations and across D.C. neighborhoods.
Members of the West Virginia National Guard assigned to the mission have been operating under Joint Task Force-DC, which says the presence will continue “until law and order is restored.”
Earlier this month, the West Virginia National Guard announced participation in patrols in Washington, D.C., would continue until the end of the year. However, the mission was being scaled back.
About 160 West Virginia National Guard volunteers were approved to remain in D.C. All personnel not continuing as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission returned to West Virginia.
“I am enraged, if I’m being completely honest,” West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey said on CNN, noting that the Guard members remaining in D.C. were volunteers.
“And I think one of the things that should be noted here is that all 160 of those guards member who were in D.C. today had volunteered their time over the Thanksgiving holiday to help complete this mission.”
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Josh Holstein expressed outrage over the attack that he described as heinous.
“This cowardly act is not only an attack on those who serve, but it is also an attack on our state and on the very values that hold this country together,” Holstein said.
“West Virginia stands united behind our National Guard, our military, and our law enforcement officers who embody courage and sacrifice in the face of danger.
West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin said “tonight, our hearts are heavy for the two members of the West Virginia National Guard shot in Washington, D.C.
“This cowardly and tragic act of violence should never happen in this country and our hearts grieve for the families who are dealing with this senseless act of violence. This tragedy transcends party lines — two families will now have to spend Thanksgiving in agony for their loved ones, who did nothing wrong and answered their call of duty.”
A federal judge ruled last week that deployment of the National Guard from several states, including West Virginia, to Washington, D.C., has been unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee to the federal court covering the District of Columbia, granted a preliminary injunction. However, Cobb issued a stay of her own ruling until Dec. 11 to allow for appeal and “to prevent potential disruption to the functioning of the District and the National Guard.”
Cobb, in a 61-page opinion, concluded that the Trump administration exceeded its authority to deploy the National Guard to Washington, D.C. without the request of local officials. The judge concluded that although the Constitution grants authority over the district to Congress, that was delegated through home rule.
“Here, the state governors whose units are currently operating in the District lack authority to order these missions because the District has not properly sought their aid,” the judge wrote, citing local code and federal law.
Earlier this month, Kanawha Circuit Judge Richard Lindsay dismissed a state-level challenge to the deployment by concluding the president was within his authority to call the Guard to Washington, D.C., and the governor has been within his authority to deploy the West Virginia National Guard there.
Lindsay’s ruling weighed the unique federal oversight of the District of Columbia as a significant factor.
“I understand that the plaintiff wants to put aside the fact that this happened in D.C., or the fact that the president has the authority that he has when invoking a local statute in D.C. But I think those are important factors,” Lindsay said in the bench ruling.
“I believe we’re not talking about another state or sovereign like Pennsylvania or Ohio. We’re talking about the District of Columbia, which is under the federal jurisdiction of our Congress and government.”