National Guardsman wounded in late-night Capitol Hill shooting

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WUSA9) – A National Guardsman is injured and a suspect is in the hospital after a late night shooting on Capitol Hill.

DC Police say a fight broke out Sunday night in a Barracks Row restaurant, in the 400 block of 8th St SE. The altercation then spilled out onto the sidewalk and then down a nearby alley around 11:10 p.m.

Authorities add a van with “seven or eight” National Guardsmen heard the fight and responded to the scene.

Interim MPD Chief Jeffrey Carroll says when the Guardsmen witnessed a man with a gun, they commanded him to drop his weapon. He allegedly refused and fired toward them, forcing three of the National Guardsmen to return fire.

One of the National Guardsmen was shot in the leg by the suspect, and the suspect was also wounded by the return gunfire. Both were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening.

DC Fire and EMS has a station in that same block of Barracks Row, and police note that EMS officials were able to quickly respond.

MPD investigators continue to assess the fight and the shooting. There is no ongoing threat to the community.

Interim Chief Carroll says there were other people who either witnessed the fight that led to the shooting or participated in the fight itself and fled the scene.