A National Guard member was shot in the leg Sunday night during a violent episode in Washington, D.C., according to Metropolitan Police Department Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll. The shooting occurred [1] as Guard members attempted to intervene and stop a fight.
Carroll provided details early Monday, saying both the wounded National Guard member and a suspect suffered gunshot wounds. He said both individuals were expected to survive the confrontation.
“So both have gunshot wounds,” he said, “the National Guard member and the suspect.” Carroll did not describe the precise sequence in which the two individuals were wounded.
The interim police chief said the injuries suffered by both individuals were “non-life-threatening injuries.” The National Guard member and the suspect were taken to hospitals for treatment following the incident.
Carroll said the violent encounter began while National Guard members were trying to bring a fight to an end. His account placed the Guard members at the scene as they attempted to intervene in the unfolding confrontation.
According to Carroll, approximately seven or eight National Guard members were inside a van before getting out because of the fight. The chief did not provide additional information about how the fight began.
The number of Guard members present became a key detail in Carroll’s description of the episode. He indicated that the group left the vehicle after observing the fight and moved to intervene.
During the incident, three National Guard members “discharged firearms,” Carroll said. His comments established that multiple Guard members fired their weapons during the violent encounter.
Carroll did not say how many total shots were fired. He also did not provide further details about the actions of the suspect before the National Guard member was struck in the leg.
The police chief’s early account focused on the two people who were wounded, the group of Guard members who left the van and the three members who fired their weapons. Both wounded individuals received hospital treatment.
BREAKING: A National Guard member was shot near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. last night.
Per authorities, seven or eight guardsmen were in a van when they heard what sounded like a fight and moved in to help. A suspect refused to drop his gun and opened fire.
The guardsmen fired back. One Guard member was hit, and so was the suspect. Both were taken to a local hospital.
These men and women ran toward danger to protect people they’d never met, and one of them took a bullet for it.
Pray for this guardsman’s recovery. Anyone who still says D.C. doesn’t need the Guard should look at what happened last night.
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 19, 2026 [2]
The National Guard member’s wound was specifically identified as an injury to the leg. Carroll said the suspect also suffered a gunshot wound, but he did not identify the location of that injury.
Despite the gunfire and the two wounded individuals, Carroll said neither person’s injuries were expected to be fatal. His statement offered a limited but clear picture of the immediate medical outlook after the confrontation.
The episode unfolded Sunday night, with Carroll publicly discussing the shooting early Monday. He described the incident as occurring during an attempt by National Guard members to stop an ongoing fight.
Carroll’s account did not include the identity of the wounded National Guard member or the suspect. His remarks centered on the intervention, the gunfire, the injuries and the transportation of both people to hospitals.
The involvement of about seven or eight Guard members began when they exited their van because of the fight, according to the interim chief. Three members then fired weapons during the incident, while one Guard member and the suspect sustained gunshot wounds.
The National Guard member remained expected to live after being shot in the leg. The suspect was likewise expected to survive, according to Carroll’s early Monday statement about the Washington, D.C., shooting.