Lightning strike White House

Four people had been critically hurt in the strike in Lafayette Square. One remains in critical condition, police said.

“When lightning strikes a tree or other object, much of the energy travels outward from the strike in and along the ground surface,” the webpage says. Lightning kills 23 people in the United States in an average year. Thunderstorms are forecast for the Washington region again Friday and over the weekend. Because lightning tends to strike tall objects, experts warn that taking shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm is highly dangerous. They were high school sweethearts before marrying and were in Washington as tourists, a vacation trip to mark their anniversary, the daughter-in-law said. The couple lived in Janesville, Wis., about 70 miles west of Milwaukee, and had five grown children, ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The victims were near a statue of Andrew Jackson, Maggiolo said, adding that "it appeared they were in the vicinity of a tree."

"We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. "The thunder was so loud, @gabrielle_ake and I jumped up in fright," CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes tweeted. It did not release any other information about the victim pending notification of kin.

An elderly couple who were visiting from Wisconsin are killed, while two others have been injured.

The White House offered condolences to the families of those who died. The lightning struck the four people near a tree by the fence that surrounds the White House complex. An elderly couple from Wisconsin are among three dead after they were struck by lightning near the White House in Washington DC, police say.

Authorities did not reveal how the people were injured, other than to say they were critically hurt in the lightning strike.

“We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Their identities were not immediately released. James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, of Janesville, Wisconsin, died of their injuries after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park, located directly outside the White House complex, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

James Mueller and Donna Mueller of Janesville, Wisconsin, were among the victims apparently hit by lightning near the White House in Washington, D.C. on...

Lightning tends to strike the taller objects in an area." “We saw several people beside a tree, and they weren't moving, and so I ran over there to try to help,” he said. “Several people ran over there, and I gave him chest compressions with another person. Don't be the tallest object in the area," an NWS safety brochure says. D.C. police were expected to release more information about the condition of the fourth victim later Friday. “I was just in a state of shock,” witness David Root said. “I just couldn't believe it. “Being a doctor working in an emergency unit, I ran over and tried to help,” he said. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life.” “All we know for sure is that there was a lightning strike in their vicinity, in their immediate vicinity, and all four were injured,” Maggiolo said. Alexander Brands, a doctor visiting from Germany, said he and his wife were looking at the White House on the first day in the District when he heard thunder and then “saw people just falling down.” “We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park. Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones, and we are praying for those still fighting for their lives,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Three people have died and a fourth remains in critical condition after a lightning strike across the street from the White House, police said Friday ...

The park was the site of a racial justice protest that was violently cleared by federal police officers in June 2020. Shortly before authorities responded to the incident, the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning cautioning that potential hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph could hit Washington, D.C. NBC News has reached out to the White House, National Park Service and Secret Service for comment.

The other two victims were 76-year-old James Mueller and 75-year-old Donna Mueller, from Janesville, Wisconsin. D.C. police said Friday morning two other people ...

- Lighting strikes kill an average of 20 people a year in the U.S., and injure many more. - Lafayette Square adjoins the White House, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the U.S. Treasury to the north. - Officers witnessed the lightning strike and immediately began to render aid to the four victims, according to a fire department spokesperson. What they're saying: "We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park. Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones, and we are praying for those still fighting for their lives," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday. - D.C. police said Friday morning two other people who were injured from the strike in Lafayette Square were in critical condition in local hospitals. Three people died after being hospitalized for injuries from a lightning strike in a park near the White House, the Metropolitan Police Department said Friday.

James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, from Janesville, Wisconsin, died from their injuries, police said.

Jensenius said people should find a safe place to shelter, such as a building, any time a thunderstorm is in their area. She remembered them as high school sweethearts who loved to dance and host gatherings for their close-knit family. Spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said the lightning strike was witnessed by members of the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Park Police, who responded to the scene, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said. "We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. A couple in their 70s celebrating their anniversary and a 29 year-old man have died after a lightning strike near the White House during a storm Thursday evening, authorities said. The lightning struck just before 7 p.m. in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House, according to the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

Brooks Lambertson's employer and family said he was in D.C. from Los Angeles, for his job as a vice president of City National Bank.

“Brooks was an incredible young man who will be remembered for his generosity, kindness and unwavering positivity,” the statement said. Lambertson, who lived in downtown L.A., previously worked in marketing for the Los Angeles Clippers, according to the release. D.C. police have identified the third person killed by a Thursday lightning strike near the White House as Brooks A. Lambertson, 29, a Los Angeles bank employee who was in the nation’s capital on business.