In a shocking turn of events, a former Trump administration official and father of three, Mike Gill, is battling for his life after being shot by a gunman suspected of a series of carjackings in the greater DC area.
Gill, who served as the chief operating officer of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during Donald Trump's presidency, was critically injured in the shooting and remained hospitalized as of Tuesday night, his family informed Fox5 Washington DC.
The unidentified gunman, who was later shot dead by the police, is believed to have been involved in three attempted or successful carjackings and two incidents of firing at the police. The crime spree began around 5:45 p.m. on Monday when the assailant entered Gill's parked car outside office buildings on K Street NW, shooting him in the head before fleeing on foot, according to the police.
Authorities are currently investigating whether the gunman was attempting to steal Gill's vehicle at the time of the shooting. Gill, who is the senior vice president for Capital Markets at the Housing Policy Council and previously served as the Republican representative on the DC Board of Elections, was picking up his wife from work when the incident occurred, as reported by the Washington Post.
Eyewitness Yolanda Douglas recounted the chilling scene to the newspaper, describing Gill sprawled on the pavement with the car door open and one foot still inside the car. She described him as wearing a dress shirt and sweater, his hand twitching as blood pooled around his head. A woman, later identified as Gill's wife, emerged from a nearby building, screaming in horror upon recognizing her husband.
Upon the arrival of paramedics, Gill's car keys and a small metal object, later confirmed to be a shell casing, fell from him, further confirming that he had been shot. Gill's family described him as "an amazing husband, father, friend, and colleague" with a "wonderful sense of humor," in a statement to Fox5.
Approximately an hour after the shooting, the suspect unsuccessfully attempted to carjack another vehicle on Third Street NE. Ten minutes later, he fatally shot 35-year-old Alberto Vasquez Jr. and stole his 2016 gray Chrysler 200. Investigators linked the three incidents and identified a suspect believed to be responsible for all three crimes.
The suspect's crime spree continued as he abandoned the Chrysler for a Toyota Camry stolen from a ride-share driver in Montgomery County. He later ditched that car and stole a Nissan Rogue in University Park in Prince Georges County. Early the next morning, the suspect, driving the Nissan, fired at a Maryland State Police cruiser that was assisting a disabled vehicle on I-95 near Route 198. The bullet struck the cruiser's hood but missed the trooper.
The same Nissan was used in a drive-by shooting of a marked DC police car on DC 295 at Exit 1. At least one bullet struck the drivers side door, but the officer was not injured. By 4:30 a.m., police in New Carrollton spotted the empty Nissan on a commercial strip in Prince Georges County. The suspect approached the officers with two firearms and was shot dead by two officers who fired at him.
This violent spree comes amid a surge in carjackings in the nation's capital, with incidents more than doubling from 2022 to 2023 to 950 incidents, as reported by the Washington Post. However, officials believe the motive behind this rampage was not material gain but the actions of a mentally unstable man. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser described the crimes as "indiscriminate" and "unthinkable."
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