Lightning Strike Outside White House Leaves 4 Critically Injured

Four people were hospitalized Thursday after an apparent lightning strike hit Lafayette Square in the nation’s capital.

According to the Washington Post, the incident took place a little before 7 p.m. just dozens of feet away from the White House. Fire department spokesperson Vito Maggiolo confirmed two men and two women were found in the park shortly after with potentially life-threatening injuries.

The victims’ identities have not been revealed, and the exact nature of their injuries remains unknown. Photos posted on social media showed D.C. Fire and EMS Department crews on the scene.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for D.C. between 6:30 and 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Chris Vagasky, an analyst for the global weather surveillance company Vaisala, told the Post his team detected a “six stroke flash near the White House that hit the same point on the ground” at 6:49 p.m. According to the outlet, that means there were six different surges of electricity that hit the same spot in less than a second.

The National Weather Service states there have been nine lightning-related fatalities in the country in 2022. The victims ranged between the ages of 22 and 50. Lighting kills an average of 23 people in the U.S. every year.