A National Guard member was shot and wounded while attempting to break up a fight in Washington on Sunday night, the Metropolitan Police Department said during a press conference early Monday.
The shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. local time in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where several National Guard members were sitting in a van when a fight broke out nearby, according to interim Washington police chief Jeffery Carroll.
“They exited their vehicle to try to intervene to try to stop the fight from occurring when they heard gunshots,” Carroll told reporters. “An individual that had been involved in the fight had pulled out a firearm and began shooting.”
The suspect then fled into an alley, where National Guard members ordered him to drop his weapon, Carroll said. The suspect allegedly pointed the firearm at the Guardsmen, prompting three of them to open fire.
“The individual then pointed the weapon toward National Guard members, who returned fire,” Carroll said.
The Guardsman was shot in the leg, while the suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Both were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Police said the suspect was arrested.
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