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Former Trump official critically wounded by gunman in deadly DC carjacking spree
A former Trump administration official and married dad of three is fighting for his life after he was shot Monday night by a gunman suspected of a string of carjackings in the greater DC area.
nypost.com
Former Trump official critically wounded by gunman in deadly DC carjacking spree
By
Social Links for Allie Griffin
Published Jan. 31, 2024, 12:38 a.m. ET
A former Trump administration official and married dad of three is fighting for his life after he was shot Monday night by a gunman suspected of a string of carjackings in the greater DC area.
Mike Gill, who served as chief operating officer of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while Donald Trump was president, was critically injured in the shooting and remained in the hospital Tuesday night, his family told Fox5 Washington DC.
The gunman shot dead another victim whose car he stole and is believed to have been responsible for another three attempted or successful carjackings — as well as two incidents in which he fired at police.
The suspect eventually was killed by cops after approaching them with two firearms in Maryland.
The man, who has not been named, began his crime spree around 5:45 p.m. Monday by entering Gill’s parked car outside office buildings on K Street NW, shooting him in the head before fleeing on foot, police said.
Authorities are investigating if he was trying to steal Gill’s vehicle when he shot him.
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 at the time of the shooting, according to the Washington Post.
3 Mike Gill, who served as chief operating officer of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while Donald Trump was president, was shot Monday night. LinkedIn
Witness Yolanda Douglas told the newspaper she saw the victim sprawled on the pavement with the car door open and one foot still in the passenger’s side of the car.
He was wearing a dress shirt and sweater and his hand was twitching as blood pooled around his head.
Douglas then saw a woman come out of a building on the block while frantically screaming, “Oh my God, that’s my husband” before running to him and grabbing his hand.
When paramedics arrived and loaded him onto a stretcher, Gill’s car keys and another small metal object fell from him, she said.
3 Gill with his wife and three children in a photo from just two weeks earlier. Sean Gill / Facebook
One of the first responders said it was a shell casing, confirming that he had been shot, Douglas told the Washington Post.
Gill’s family described him as “an amazing husband, father, friend and colleague” with a “wonderful sense of humor” in a statement to Fox5 Tuesday.
“He makes friends with everyone — and is always looking for opportunities to bring people together and make them feel included and loved,” the statement read. “His warmth and kindness have touched the lives of many, evident in the outpouring of love and support his family has have received during this difficult time.”
About an hour after allegedly shooting Gill, the suspect tried, unsuccessfully, to carjack another vehicle on Third Street NE.
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FBI agent carjacked in Washington, latest in string of high-profile carjackings
Ten minutes later, the gunman fatally shot driver Alberto Vasquez Jr., 35, and stole his 2016 gray Chrysler 200, authorities said.
Investigators linked the three incidents and identified a suspect they believed to be responsible for all three crimes.
But the carjacker continued on his criminal spree, abandoning the Chrysler for a Toyota Camry he reportedly stole from a ride-share driver in Montgomery County.
He then ditched that car and stole a Nissan Rogue in University Park in Prince George’s County, police said.
Early the next day, at 2:30 a.m., authorities learned that someone driving a Nissan shot at a Maryland State Police cruiser that was stopped to help a disabled vehicle on I-95 near Route 198.
The bullet struck its hood and missed the trooper, officials said.
The same Nissan was the vehicle used in a drive-by shooting of a marked DC police car on DC 295 at Exit 1, authorities said, according to the Washington Post.
At least one bullet struck the driver’s door, but the cop was not injured.
By about 4:30 a.m., police in New Carrollton spotted the empty Nissan on a commercial strip in Prince George’s County, officials said.
3 Metropolitan Police released a photo of the suspect involved in the shooting on Monday. Metropolitan Police Department
The suspect then approached the officers with two firearms and was shot dead by two cops who each fired at the man.
The violent spree comes after the nation’s capital city has seen carjackings more than double from 2022 to 2023 to 950 incidents, the Washington Post reported.
But officials believe the motive in the Monday-to-Tuesday rampage was not material gain but the work of an unhinged man suffering from a mental break.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the crimes were “indiscriminate” and “unthinkable,” according to the outlet.