Man charged in DC shooting was walking near JD Vance’s motorcade, agent says | Washington DC
A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement near the Washington monument this week was walking in the path of J.D. Vance’s motorcade before he was shot and made a rude comment about the White House after the shooting, according to a court filing Wednesday.
Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was shot multiple times during Monday’s shooting and said while in the back of an ambulance on his way to the hospital: “‘Fuck the White House’ and ‘Kill me, kill me, kill me,'” a Secret Service agent said in an affidavit.
The affidavit does not say whether investigators believe Marx had a specific goal.
U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement that her office “will pursue the most serious charges possible against anyone who brings gun violence to our streets, especially when that violence occurs just steps from the seat of our government and the path of the vice president of the United States.”
As Marx walked along the path of Vance’s motorcade, officers spotted him at the intersection of 15th Street and Independence Boulevard. The officers responded to a Secret Service agent’s report that Marx was seen near the White House complex with a firearm concealed on the right side of his body, the affidavit states.
While running from Secret Service officers, Marx pulled a firearm from his waistband and fired at one of them, but a person standing behind the officer was shot in the leg, according to the affidavit. Officers returned fire, striking Marx in the abdomen, hand and left arm, according to the filing. It is stated here that Marx spat at the police officers who helped him after the shooting.
According to ABC News, the young bystander was not seriously injured in the incident and was released from the hospital. ABC was first to report what the suspect allegedly said after the shooting.
Marx was charged with assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, using a firearm during a violent crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The shooting comes about a week after a California man tried to storm a White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with a gun and knives. Cole Tomas Allen was accused of attempting to assassinate the president and shooting a Secret Service officer.
At the time of Monday’s attack, Donald Trump was holding a small business event at the White House and was briefly locked down while authorities investigated.
Online court records did not immediately list the name of an attorney representing Marx.
According to the affidavit, Marx used aliases such as Michael Patrick and Michael Zavici. The report states that Marx was convicted in 2011 of drug trafficking charges in Florida, where it is illegal for him to possess a firearm.
