2 National Guard members in critical condition; D.C. shooting suspect said to be Afghan national

 2 National Guard members in critical condition; D.C. shooting suspect said to be Afghan national

2 National Guard members in critical condition; D.C. shooting suspect said to be Afghan national start with this evening’s breaking news. Two National Guardsmen are in critical condition after being shot in Washington, D.C., this afternoon.

It happened just two blocks from the White House. The mayor of Washington, D.C.,  says both guards were hit in the shooting.

They were taken to an area hospital in critical condition. A suspect was taken into custody and then taken to an area hospital for treatment after being shot four times.

There are no other suspects at this time. D.C. police say they have no confirmed motive for the attack at this time. The FBI is leading the investigation,

FBI Director Kesh Patel said this afternoon in an update on which agencies will assist in the investigation. Since this is an assault on a federal law enforcement officer,

it will be treated as an assault on a federal law enforcement officer at the federal level. The FBI will lead this mission with our interagency partners

including the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the ATF, the DEA, and we are grateful for the assistance of the Mayor in this matter. The Metropolitan Police Department and its expertise in investigating homicides and mass shootings in this city are extraordinary.

But first, let's talk more about this with Anna Sher, senior crime and public safety producer for CBS News. And Anna, I know you have new information about the suspect.

The suspect entered the United States in 2021. He is an Afghan national who was living in Washington state. He is 29 years old, and he carried out this targeted attack. Um, so at this point we know. We are waiting for

a presser. It looks like it has just been canceled. So, uh, we were hoping to hear more from the authorities. It's unclear if they've pushed it back yet, but we were expecting

that there would be a hearing from authorities in the next hour or two. Oh, that's where we're standing now. We heard that both of the National Guard casualties are in critical condition. Um, seriously.

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And the suspect was also shot and is in the hospital in law enforcement custody. Anna, you just released some more information about the suspect.

Again, where does he live, and where was he living at the time? He was from Washington state. Uh, 29 years old, entered the country in 2021, an Afghan national according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Um, our sources were given by our colleague Camilo Monontoyo, who's talking to his sources at DHS, and Nicole Sakanga as well. Oh, and there's a name that's been circulating.

Among law enforcement. They've pinned him down. They're looking at the immigration file. Oh, and they're trying to eliminate a target; investigators are asking him questions

And we're hoping to get more information as the evening goes on. Absolutely. So, the shooting is happening a short distance from the White House. Will we see increased security in DC as a result of this? Absolutely.

Absolutely. DC already has a lot of security, but unfortunately, that doesn't stop a lone wolf from hiding a weapon like a gun. I mean, that's the

thing we wrestle with in our society, security versus personal freedom. And so, it's impossible to completely rule out that a lone wolf could carry out an attack like this.

I want to remind my viewers that about 6 months ago, in May, someone shot and killed two Israeli diplomats. They were leaving a Jewish museum.

It is located across the street from the FBI Washington field office, which is supposed to be a very secure area, but he managed to get a gun, as in this case.

Oh, the suspect, this 29-year-old man, brought the weapon to a metro station near the White House. This time of year, there are a lot of tourists hanging around. Very busy time of year

and I was able to fire and seriously injure two National Guard troops. And we were told that it was a targeted, deliberate attack. President Trump's deployment of the National Guard was declared illegal by a federal judge in D.C. a week ago.

So why were the National Guard there? Well, President Trump has been leaning toward this policy of putting National Guard troops on city streets across the country.

And it's been going back and forth in the court system, and they haven't been pushed back. Remember, he used a very little-used law to deploy the National Guard in other cities.

But in DC proper, he had the authority to do that, but there was a time limit that was about 30 days of a time limit which was then extended. So, it's this messy area with the law

And it's actually very confusing. What's allowed and what's over the limit? Anna Shakir. Anna, thank you. Now, I want to bring in CBS News reporter Erica Brown to talk about what the president is saying about the shooting tonight.

Released more information, Erica? Okay, Juliette, President Trump reacted to the ambush-style shooting after his press secretary, Caroline Levitt, said that he was briefed on the matter,

and immediately after that And President Trump called the suspect an animal and said that even though he, too, means that the suspect was seriously injured in the shooting,

he will still pay a heavy price. Now, the president praised the U.S. military, saying in a social media post oh quote, "God bless our great National Guard and all of our military and law enforcement."

These are truly great people. I, as President of the United States, stand with you. Now Vice President J. DeVines also addressed the shooting during his remarks at Fort Campbell.

Listen to this. I want every person who is honest to God to pray for these two National Guardsmen to be able to spend Thanksgiving with their families instead of losing their lives.

Because I think they are still in a pretty tough situation. But I think it's a great reminder that soldiers, whether they're active duty, Reserves, or National Guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America.

And as someone who works in this building every single day and knows that there are so many people who wear the uniform of the United States military,

let me just say personally that we thank them for what they are doing. We are grateful to them, and we are praying that they will be safe

and that they will spend Thanksgiving with their families. May God bless them. So there, Vice President Vance, in the wake of this shooting, called American soldiers the sword and shield of the United States

and thanked them for their service. How is the Department of Defense responding to this shooting? Well, Juliet, Secretary of Defense Pat Heggith strongly condemned this attack, saying

that we will not back down from doing something like this. We will only strengthen our resolve and continue to secure the capital.

And shortly after those remarks, Secretary Heggith requested the deployment of hundreds more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.

And President Trump ordered 500 more National Guard troops to the nation's capital. This, of course, comes months after the president initially deployed National Guard troops here in Washington,

which is more than 2,000,  as part of a nationwide crackdown on crime. But as you noted, Juliet, that's currently facing a legal challenge.

But, oh, Secretary Higgins requested hundreds more National Guard troops to the nation's capital in the wake of the shooting. Juliet, Erica Brown. Erica, thank you.

Again, right now, the D.C. Metro Police have not identified a credible motive in this case, but Mayor Morrell Bowser says it appears that the guards were targeted.

Andrea, what we do know is that this was a targeted shooting. A person who appeared to be targeting these guards. That person has been taken into custody.