Did the two national guard soldiers die in Washington DC?
Executive summary
Initial reports and social posts said two West Virginia National Guard members shot near the White House on Nov. 26, 2025 had died; those claims were later contradicted by other officials who said the guardsmen were critically wounded and alive (see West Virginia governor’s retraction and Reuters/AP/NYT reporting) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Major outlets reported the two were shot and in critical condition; the governor’s early tweet announcing deaths was retracted amid “conflicting reports” [1] [5] [2].
1. What happened at the scene — the basic facts
Law enforcement says a suspect opened fire near the Farragut West / 17th St. area two blocks from the White House, wounding two West Virginia National Guard members; the suspect was also wounded and taken into custody after an exchange with other guardsmen and officers [6] [2] [3]. Multiple outlets describe the attack as an apparent targeted ambush with roughly 10–15 shots fired and an immediate, large multiagency response including Secret Service, FBI and DC police [6] [2] [3].
2. Conflicting official statements — who said what and when
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially posted that both Guardsmen had “passed away,” but later retracted or said he had “conflicting reports,” creating a fast-moving contradiction between his social post and other on-the-ground reporting [1] [5]. Deadline captured the governor’s initial tweet and later backtracking; other outlets (Reuters, AP, NYT, Washington Post, Guardian) were reporting the soldiers were critically wounded and hospitalized at the time of their coverage [1] [2] [3] [4] [7].
3. How major news outlets reported it
Reuters, AP, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN consistently described the two Guardsmen as seriously or critically wounded and said the suspect was in custody; these organizations’ live updates emphasized the evolving nature of the situation rather than a confirmed death toll [2] [3] [4] [7] [8]. Some local and smaller outlets repeated the governor’s initial announcement that the soldiers had died, which produced divergent headlines across the media landscape [9] [10] [11].
4. Why the discrepancy matters — verification and speed
The episode illustrates how official social-media posts can outpace verification; an immediate gubernatorial announcement of fatalities was not corroborated by federal/local law enforcement or hospital confirmations cited in later reporting, prompting the governor to retract and media organizations to flag uncertainty [1] [5] [2]. In high-profile incidents near the White House, multiple agencies and jurisdictions are involved, which can produce inconsistent situational updates during the first hours [2] [3].
5. Broader context and political reactions
The shooting occurred amid a contentious nationwide deployment of National Guard troops to D.C., ordered by the Trump administration and challenged in court; political figures across parties responded quickly—some using the incident to argue for or against the troop presence—so initial statements carried political as well as human impact [12] [4] [6]. Officials including the Department of Homeland Security and the White House framed the guardsmen as serving to protect the capital; the suspect’s identity and immigration history were also highlighted by some officials and outlets, which fed competing narratives about causes and policy implications [8] [7].
6. What we can reliably say now (based on available reporting)
Reliable, corroborated reporting from Reuters, AP, NYT and the Washington Post states two West Virginia National Guard members were shot near the White House and were in critical condition after the attack, and a suspect was apprehended and also wounded [2] [3] [4] [7]. The earlier claim by the West Virginia governor that both had died was publicly retracted or described as based on conflicting information [1] [5].
7. Limitations and what remains unknown
Available sources do not mention definitive, independently verified hospital confirmations of deaths after the governor’s initial tweet; some outlets repeated the governor’s first statement before it was retracted, producing mixed headlines [1] [5] [9]. Final medical-status confirmations or official death certificates were not cited in the major wire reporting captured here at the time those pieces were published [2] [3] [4].
Bottom line: early gubernatorial posts said the two Guardsmen had died, but multiple major news organizations and subsequent official statements described them as critically wounded and the governor later acknowledged conflicting reports; current, corroborated reporting in the provided sources supports that they were shot and critically wounded, not a confirmed death toll [1] [2] [3] [4].