Two United States National Guardsmen from West Virginia have been shot near the White House and are in critical condition, several officials have said.

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters that the incident on Wednesday was a “targeted shooting” and that the suspect has been arrested.

“I want to send my thoughts and prayers to the families of the guardsmen and to the guardsmen who are in critical condition in a local hospital,” she said.

There was initial confusion about the condition of the guardsmen after West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially wrote on social media that both service members had died. But he later retracted that statement, saying that he had received “conflicting reports” about the situation.

In an earlier post, he pledged to pursue accountability against the attacker. “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country,” he wrote. “West Virginia will never forget their service or their sacrifice, and we will demand full accountability for this horrific act.”

US President Donald Trump quickly responded, pledging on his online platform Truth Social that the perpetrator would pay a “very steep price”.

Trump later shared a video address from his Mar-a-Lago residence, in Florida, where he said that his administration would begin measures to remove foreigners who do “not belong here”, after saying the Department of Homeland Security was “confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan”.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (USCIS) said it is ending the “processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals” pending review of “security and vetting protocols”.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also quickly responded to the attack, saying that Trump had requested the deployment of 500 more National Guards to the US capital.

“This happened just steps from the White House and it will not stand and that’s why President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the secretary of the Army to the National Guard, to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen, to Washington, DC,” Hegseth said.

‘Matter of national security’

Trump was not at the White House at the time of the shooting. He had left for Florida to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The motives behind the shooting remain unclear. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had said that her office was working with other law enforcement agencies to investigate.

“Please join me in praying for the two National Guardsmen who were just shot moments ago in Washington DC,” Noem said.

Jeffery Carroll, the deputy chief at the Metropolitan Police Department, said the suspect was also hospitalised.

“We have reviewed video from the area. It appears to be a lone gunman that raised the firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard, and he was quickly taken into custody,” Carroll told reporters.

The police initially told people to avoid the area of the shooting, but subsequently said the scene was “secured”.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting in the US capital “is a matter of national security”.

“We have assembled the full force of both the federal and state and local law enforcement agencies to bring all of our resources to make sure we find the perpetrators responsible for this heinous act,” Patel said.

The shooting comes as the US continues to reel from political violence after the assassination of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk in September and the killing of Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman in June.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan noted a heavy security presence at the scene of the shooting.

“What we’re seeing are lots of DC police, lots of Secret Service, uniformed agents, members of the National Guard, who are all surrounding a perimeter around what’s called the Farragut West metro station,” Jordan said.

The National Guard is a state-based force that is part of the US military. Governors can deploy them in their states to respond to local emergencies, mostly natural disasters.

National Guard deployment

The White House also separately filed an emergency motion to halt an earlier ruling that would have seen the National Guard leave Washington, DC.

The 208-page appeal was filed on Wednesday at the federal court in the District of Columbia by Trump and several of his top officials.

Trump deployed federal troops, including National Guard members, to Washington in August as part of a campaign that aims to combat crime in the nation’s capital.

Since their deployment, the National Guards have been patrolling neighbourhoods and transport hubs, usually in clusters of three to five soldiers.

Last week, a federal judge, Jia Cobb, ruled to suspend the National Guard deployment in the capital, on the basis that Trump had exceeded the authority of the executive branch.

Critics had accused the president of using military members for domestic law enforcement, in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

Cobb’s order suspending the National Guard deployment, however, has been paused for 21 days, to give the Trump administration time to appeal.

Trump, a Republican, has also tried to expand the deployment of federal forces to other Democratic-run cities, sparking legal challenges and political opposition.

On Wednesday, lawmakers from both major parties condemned the shooting in Washington, DC.

“Praying for the National Guard members wounded in this horrific shooting,” Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on the social media platform X.

“Thankful for the brave law enforcement officers and first responders who swiftly apprehended a suspect. There is no place for violence in America.”