Two National Guardsmen were taken to the hospital after lightning struck near where they were standing outside of the White House.
The lightning struck near Lafayette Square as a particularly violent round of thunderstorms rolled through Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The National Guard had been deployed to provide security at the “Justice For George Floyd” protests, according to the Washington Post. The two were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Doug Buchanan, chief communications officer for the Washington, D.C., Fire Department, said both of the guardsmen “were conscious and alert with no visible signs of burns.” Buchanan noted the bolt “was clearly an indirect strike, presumably to a tree that was nearby.”
District Mayor Muriel Bowser wished the injured guardsmen well and thanked them for their service in a Friday tweet.
“Our @DCGuard1802 had two members hurt by a lightning strike last night. Let’s keep them in our prayers and wish them a speedy recovery. Thank you for your service to the residents of the District of Columbia,” the mayor said.
Our @DCGuard1802 had two members hurt by a lightning strike last night. Let’s keep them in our prayers and wish them a speedy recovery. Thank you for your service to the residents of the District of Columbia. https://t.co/BdA774jBf8
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 5, 2020
Lighting also struck the Washington Monument during the storms. Kevin Ambrose, a photographer with the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang, said that the monument gets hit by lightning several times per year.
“But it’s not a common occurrence with every thunderstorm. In the dozens of thunderstorms I’ve photographed in D.C. over the past 15 years, I’ve only witnessed a direct strike one time,” he said.
Protests have continued in Washington and across the United States after video emerged showing Floyd being violently detained by police officers before he fell unconscious and died. The officers involved have been charged in relation to the death.
