National Guardsman Shot in Leg After Troops Step Into Capitol Hill Fight, Police Say

WASHINGTON. A National Guard member was shot in the leg late on Sunday night after troops stepped in to break up a fight on Capitol Hill, and three Guardsmen returned fire and hit the gunman in the abdomen, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

The shooting happened at about 11:10 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, in the 400 block of 8th Street SE, near the Eastern Market Metro station, interim Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said at a briefing at the scene early on Monday, October 19.

Carroll said seven or eight Guardsmen were in a vehicle nearby and were monitoring a group of people on the sidewalk when a fight broke out in the group at about 11:10 p.m. The troops got out of the vehicle and moved in to break up the fight, Hindustan Times reported.

Gunman fired first, chief says

As the troops intervened, an adult man who was part of the fight pulled out a gun and began shooting, Carroll said. One Guardsman was hit in the leg.

"National Guard immediately gave commands to that individual to put down the gun. That individual then pointed the weapon towards National Guard members, who returned fire to the individual," Carroll said.

Three Guardsmen fired back near the entrance to an alleyway and hit the man in the abdomen, police said. Carroll said the man was the only person who fired before the troops returned fire.

Both men were taken to local hospitals. Carroll described the injuries of both as non-life threatening and said he expected both to survive.

Police take over the investigation

The police department first announced the shooting in a post on social media on Monday, saying officers were investigating a shooting involving a National Guard member in the 400 block of 8th Street SE, ABC News reported.

Carroll said detectives from the department Internal Affairs and Criminal Investigations divisions were at the scene and are handling the investigation, and he said there was no further threat to the public. The department is reviewing whether the return fire followed its rules, according to reports of the briefing.

The other people who took part in the fight ran from the scene when the shooting started. Carroll said investigators still want to speak with them, and with anyone else who saw the fight or the shooting, to learn how it started.

Second Guard shooting in the capital in under a year

The National Guard has kept a visible presence on Washington streets in recent months, and any shooting that involves a Guardsman draws close attention in the capital.

The shooting comes less than a year after two West Virginia National Guard members were shot in Washington on November 26, 2025. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom was killed in that ambush and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe was wounded, the U.S. Attorney's Office account cited in reports of the Monday briefing noted.

What is not yet known

Police have not released the name of the wounded Guardsman or the name of the man who was shot in the abdomen. They have not said what started the sidewalk fight, which National Guard unit the troops belong to, or what charges the man will face. The investigation is still active, police said.