Crime & Safety

3 Killed, 1 Injured From Lightning Strike Near White House: Police

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement Friday, calling it a "tragic loss of life."

Two people are dead after an apparent lightning strike hit them and two others in Lafayette Park on Thursday, according to police.
Two people are dead after an apparent lightning strike hit them and two others in Lafayette Park on Thursday, according to police. (DC Fire and EMS)

WASHINGTON, DC — Three people are now dead after an apparent lightning strike hit them and one other person in Lafayette Park on Thursday, according to police.

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the third victim, a 29-year-old man, died Friday. Authorities have not identified the victim pending notification of family.

The strike happened just before 7 p.m. Thursday, according to D.C. Fire and EMS. It hit near the center of the park in a grove of trees located about 100 feet southeast of the statue of Andrew Jackson, the Washington Post reported.

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According to D.C. Fire, members of the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Park Police saw the strike and immediately helped the victims. All four were taken to the hospital with critical injuries.

Donna Mueller, 75, and James Mueller, 76, of Janesville, Wisconsin, also died from their injuries, police said. One other victim remains in critical condition.

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Authorities did not say how the people were injured.

Lafayette Park is located just north of the White House. See video of a lightning strike captured around the time the victims were injured.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement Friday, calling it a "tragic loss of life."

"Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones, and we are praying for those still fighting for their lives," Jean-Pierre said.

The area was under a severe thunderstorm warning at the time, according to AccuWeather. That included Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, and Alexandria.

"Thunderstorms developed this evening across the Washington, D.C. area just before 5:30 p.m.," said Alyson Hoegg, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. "As thunderstorms slowly moved across the area, strong winds with gusts of 50 to 60 mph were observed at Reagan National Airport. In addition to the strong winds, many cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were observed across the area between 6 and 7 p.m. Thursday evening."

Meteorologist Chris Vagasky, a lightning specialist and member of the National Lightning Safety Council, tweeted that a six-stroke lightning bolt struck around 6:50 p.m. Typically, lightning strikes contain one or two strokes, according to AccuWeather. Powerful lighting strikes can contain dozens of strokes.

"Between 2010 and 2021, 289 cloud-to-ground flashes occurred within 1 mile of the White House, an average of 24 per year," Vagasky tweeted.

Lightning kills about 20 people and injures hundreds more each year in the United States, according to the National Weather Service. Prior to Thursday, nine people in the United States had been killed by lightning in 2022.


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