Washington Monument is struck by LIGHTNING in scary moment that left two National Guardsmen hurt – The Sun

DRAMATIC footage shows the moment a lightning bolt appears to strike the Washington Monument and surrounding areas.

During the intense storm, two members of the National Guard who were deployed to Washington, D.C. amid civil unrest over police brutality, were seriously injured by the lightning.

The servicemen were within the Lafayette Park perimeter, where protests over the death of George Floyd continued, when a bolt struck the area just after midnight on Friday.

Both of the officers were taken to a nearby hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, D.C. Fire and EMS officials said.

"(Officials) received a call for a report of 2 military personnel suffering the effects of a nearby lightning strike within the Lafayette Park perimeter," D.C. Fire posted on Twitter.

Vito Maggiolo, spokesman for the district's fire and emergency medical services department, said the victims "felt the effects of a nearby lightning strike", according to NBC News.

Footage of the storm showed the sky over the capital being lit up by powerful bolts of lightning.

"INSANE video from our @wusa9 SkyCam WOOOOOW," WUSA-TV tweeted on Thursday night.

Earlier this week, protesters in the area were dispersed by US Park Police with tear gas and rubber bullets before President Donald Trump posed with a bible in front of nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church.

The nation's capital lifted a curfew on Thursday night after no arrests were reported on Wednesday night, Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

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