National Mall shooting suspect charged
A Texas man is facing federal charges for allegedly shooting at Secret Service officers.
The Washington Monument is photographed on April 7 in Washington. | Rahmat Gul/AP
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged a Texas man accused of firing his gun at a Secret Service officer on the National Mall earlier this week, the Justice Department announced.
Michael Marx, 45, faces charges of assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon, using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
“My office will pursue the most serious charges available against anyone who brings gun violence to our streets, particularly when that violence unfolds steps from the seat of our government and the path of the Vice President of the United States,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.
The charges stem from a May 4 incident near the Washington Monument. Plainclothes officers determined that a man had a gun and called for backup. The man, later identified as Marx, exchanged fire with officers while trying to flee the area. A bystander was struck in the leg during the incident while Marx was struck in the hand, left arm and upper abdomen.
The episode unfolded amid a heightened state of wariness in Washington, after a man who prosecutors allege tried to assassinate President Donald Trump and members of his administration stormed the security perimeter at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April.
The Justice Department alleges that while being transported to the hospital in an ambulance, Marx said, “F--- the White House” and “Kill me, kill me, kill me.”
Law enforcement recovered a handgun that Marx was not licensed to carry in D.C., the Justice Department said.
The department has not yet announced a court date on the charges.
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