(Washington DC/Oslo:) The shooting occurred in the neighborhood of the White House. The suspected perpetrator has been arrested, police confirm.
The shooting in the middle of the American capital was quickly confirmed by local police.
There have been conflicting reports about the condition of the soldiers who were shot. Patrick Morrisey, the governor of West Virginia, where the soldiers in question are from, initially said the soldiers were dead. He later retracted that statement, saying there were conflicting reports about the health of the two soldiers.
In a message on Truth Social, President Donald Trump writes that the two soldiers are seriously injured in separate hospitals.
The suspect is also seriously injured, Trump writes in a post on Truth Social.
– The beast that shot the two soldiers (...) is also seriously injured, but will pay a stiff price anyway, the president writes.
Police reportedly found a rifle at the scene, according to The Washington Post.
Rounded the corner and opened fire
Washington, DC Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said during a press conference that National Guard personnel were on patrol in the area when the suspect rounded the corner, raised his arm and began shooting at the soldiers.
The two soldiers reportedly exchanged gunfire with the suspected perpetrator before they themselves were shot, Carroll said.
An eyewitness said he heard two shots, followed by three more, according to the BBC. People reportedly started running in panic and tried to take refuge in a shop.
Other National Guard and police personnel, who were nearby, were quick to apprehend the man, Carroll said.
He also said that there is only one suspect in the case.
CNN reports that the suspect was taken away from the scene on a stretcher. This brings the total number of people taken to hospital after the incident, according to the city's fire department.
A video filmed from a building near the scene shows the arrest of the alleged perpetrator, which took place just outside the exit of the Washington, D.C., subway station closest to the White House.
Shut down
Aftenposten's correspondent on the scene reports roadblocks, police cars with flashing lights and sirens, and police and personnel in military uniforms in downtown Washington, DC, where the shooting occurred. An area of at least 200 meters around the shooting scene has been completely cordoned off.
The White House went into lockdown immediately after the shooting, Reuters reports.
On the lawn nearby, a helicopter with its rotors running was standing. The helicopter is said to have evacuated at least one of the soldiers who was shot.
Donald Trump was not at the White House during the shooting. He is at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida for Thanksgiving celebrations. When the shooting occurred, he was at his golf course in the area.
A total ban on flying near D.C. was also imposed for a while during the unfolding drama.
Asking for even more soldiers in DC
In August, Trump ordered 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to better police the city. The president thus placed the police in the US capital under federal control.
Although crime rates in the city have been declining, Trump has claimed it is completely out of control. He has threatened for months with a federal takeover.
– I will make our capital great again, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social the same day he announced the deployment of the National Guard.
According to Reuters, 2,200 National Guard soldiers were deployed in the city on Wednesday.
Trump is requesting that 500 additional troops be deployed to the capital in response to the shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
This will increase the total number to 2700.
Last week, a federal judge ordered Trump to delay deploying more National Guard troops, a ruling that came after Democratic Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration.
