Man Shot Dead Amid Protests Over National Guard Deployment

On Monday, an unidentified man was shot and killed, coinciding with protests against President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C. to address crime. This announcement came during a press conference following a series of notable violent incidents in the city this year.

The Metropolitan Police Department reported that officers were called to the 1200 block of NW 12th Avenue around 7:01 PM, where they discovered an unconscious man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of D.C. Fire and EMS, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Earlier, around 6:24 PM, large groups of protesters had gathered at DuPont Circle. They were seen holding signs and chanting as they marched north along 14th Avenue, expressing their opposition to Trump’s decision to federalize the city.

Interestingly, about eight minutes before the protests began, a digital host from Bleacher Report shared a video showing protesters had already made it to 14th Avenue NW, just 0.6 miles from where the shooting took place. This was noted as being a fairly quick walk from the incident location.

A nearby resident voiced her distress about the shooting occurring just before Trump’s announcement. “I heard the shots fire quickly,” she recounts. “At first, I thought it was fireworks, but then it sounded terrifying.” When reflecting on the incident, she described feeling a bit shaken, lamenting that such violence happened in close proximity to political developments.

Trump addressed plans to involve the National Guard during a press conference on Wednesday, mentioning that D.C. could become “one of the most dangerous cities in the world” if issues weren’t addressed. He expressed confidence that these measures could lead to significant improvements in safety.

In recent days, police responded to gunfire in the Navy Yard area after reports of a shooting between juveniles. Furthermore, this shooting occurred shortly after a former government official was attacked during an attempted carjacking near Dupont Circle, an incident that the president later highlighted as indicative of crime being “out of control” in the city.

Opponents of Trump’s rhetoric argue that crime has actually dropped significantly in the city. In fact, they noted a 35% reduction in crime rates in 2024. Critics emphasized that local police data may not fully reflect the situation, pointing out that some serious offenses like aggravated assault are not included in these statistics.

The recent violence follows the fatal shooting of a GOP intern in June and another incident involving attacks close to the Israeli embassy in May, highlighting ongoing concerns over safety in the capital.