Secretary of War Pete Hegseth came out firing Wednesday in the wake of the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C.
Addressing reporters while on a trip to the Dominican Republic, Hegseth said that after the shooting, President Donald Trump had asked him to increase the number of Guardsmen in the nation’s capital, where the Guard has been assisting crime prevention since August.
And Hegseth didn’t mince words about following through.
BREAKING: President Trump and Pete Hegseth SURGE ANOTHER 500 TROOPS into Washington DC as a result of the shooting,
GOOD! Lock it DOWN.
“POTUS has asked me [to] add 500 additional National Guardsmen to Washington DC.”
“Someone decided to TARGET National Guardsmen. That will… pic.twitter.com/p2HzqVLMJd
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 26, 2025
“This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful. The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic,” Hegseth said.
“But if criminals want to conduct things like this, violence against America’s best, we will never back down. President Trump will never back down. That’s why the American people elected him.”
Hegseth had just come out of a meeting with Dominican officials, where he’d been informed of the shooting, The Hill reported.
The condition of the two Guardsmen was unclear Wednesday. Patrick Morrisey, the governor of the guardmen’s home state of West Virginia, announced on Wednesday that the two had died, but later announced that he’d received conflicing information, The Associated Press reported.
At the time Hegseth spoke, he said only that the two Guardsmen were in critical condition.
He said Trump had asked him to send another 500 Guard troops to D.C., to reinforce the approximately 2,000 Guardsmen from around the country who are currently in the capital.
He said he will in turn ask Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to make that happen.
Hegseth also made a point of asking Americans to pray for the Guard.
“I mentioned the faith [of] this country, the Christian faith, the prayers,” he said. “I would ask for prayers for our National Guardsmen.”
Details of the early shooting are not fully fleshed out. The gunman who fired on the two Guardsmen was wounded in an exchange of gunfire and is being treated while in custody.
However, at an evening news conference, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said it was a “targeted shooting,” according to USA Today.
Jeffery Caroll, executive assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, called it an ambush, USA Today reported.
“At this point, we have no other suspects,” Carroll said.
“It appears to be a lone gunman that raised the firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard and was quickly taken into custody by other National Guard members and law enforcement members.”
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