DC National Guard Ambush: Two Heroes Shot, Trump Pledges Retribution & Troop Surge

National Guard Soldiers Ambushed in Washington D.C.

Two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were gunned down in broad daylight Wednesday in a targeted ambush just blocks from the White House, turning a festive Thanksgiving-eve afternoon into a war-zone scene of blood and chaos.

The attack unfolded around 2:15 p.m. near 17th and I streets NW, close to Farragut Square and the Farragut West Metro station—a bustling lunch spot for office workers and tourists. Eyewitnesses described a lone gunman rounding a corner, raising his arm, and opening fire on the high-visibility patrol before being dropped in a hail of return fire from other Guardsmen. Both soldiers were rushed to trauma centers in critical condition, with one witness spotting a Guardsman on a stretcher, head bloodied and an automated compression device strapped to his chest. The suspect—wounded in the exchange and now in custody—had no ID on him and isn't cooperating, per sources. Authorities are probing it as a possible act of terrorism, though no motive or identity has been confirmed.

President Trump's Swift Response and Troop Deployment

President Trump, cutting short his Mar-a-Lago Thanksgiving prep, blasted the attacker as “a disgusting animal” who “will pay a very steep price” on Truth Social, while hailing the Guard's “incredible bravery.” Within hours, he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to surge 500 additional National Guard troops into D.C., pushing the federalized force—already at about 2,200 from states like West Virginia—to nearly 2,700. Hegseth, at a joint presser with Mayor Muriel Bowser and FBI Director Kash Patel, vowed the extra boots would “stiffen our resolve to make Washington safe and beautiful.”

D.C. Lawlessness and Critics' Reactions

This is the exact scenario Trump warned about when he federalized the D.C. Guard back in August and began flooding the streets with troops from red states: a Democrat-run city spiraling into lawlessness, now breeding—or importing—threats that target American warriors in uniform on American soil. West Virginia's contingent, the second-largest at 416 troops, has been patrolling high-traffic spots like this one as part of Trump's nationwide crackdown on crime and unchecked immigration in blue strongholds.

The soldiers weren’t chasing gangbangers or sweeping sidewalks this time—they were projecting raw American strength in the shadow of the people's house. And they paid for it in blood. Initial reports from Gov. Patrick Morrisey had the worst: both dead. He walked it back fast amid “conflicting reports,” but the fear alone gripped families back home in Charleston.

Critics—from Bowser, who slammed the deployments as overreach in court, to media outlets decrying “militarization”—called it all “authoritarian cosplay.” A federal judge even ruled the whole operation likely illegal, with a potential boot by Dec. 11—right as Trump filed an emergency stay post-shooting. Today? Crickets from the peanut gallery while two heroes bleed out because the President dared to treat D.C. like the combat zone it's become under soft-on-crime rule.

The "America First" Playbook Validated

This ambush is grim validation of the entire America First playbook: Seal the borders tight—no more mystery shooters slipping through. Vet refugees and migrants like your life depends on it, because it does. Back the troops—Guard or otherwise—without apology or virtue-signaling. When they draw fire, don't debate or delay: Double down, deploy, dominate—instantly.

No weepy Rose Garden sob stories. No endless “thoughts and prayers” loops. Just the decisive hammer Americans have craved since the Biden years turned cities into free-fire zones.

A Stronger America: Trump's Decisive Action

The era of weakness? Buried under those extra 500 pairs of boots hitting the pavement before the sun set.

Pray hard for these Guardsmen and their kin tonight. West Virginia strong. America stronger—because we've got a Commander-in-Chief who treats hits on our own like the declarations of war they are.