Critics are lambasting MS NOW correspondent Ken Dilanian for seemingly suggesting the suspect who critically injured two National Guardsmen near the White House was reacting to “controversy” surrounding uniformed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in American cities.
Dilanian, a justice and intelligence correspondent for the network, pitched his two cents on the devastating shooting while on-air Wednesday afternoon.
“[O]f course, you know, there’s so much controversy happening in the United States right now with ICE, who are also wearing uniforms and wearing masks. And so there’s, you don’t know, people walking around with uniforms in an American city. There are some Americans that might object to that. And so apparently this shooting has happened,” he said during an MS NOW breaking news report.
The shooting, which law enforcement officials said was a targeted “ambush,” critically wounded two National Guardsmen, including one who was believed to be shot in the head.
Many online users struggled to fathom Dilanian’s contrarian perspective that brushed over the severity of the flagrant attack.
“You do realize two people were murdered? Surely you know this,” one user wrote on X.
“Leave it to MS FakeNews to victim blame,” another added.
“This is an insane take and no pushback. You can’t hate the media enough,” one user wrote.
“A day before Thanksgiving, two families have lost their loved ones. How dare you say this?” another blasted.
After the shooting, President Trump ordered 500 additional National Guard troops be sent to Washington, DC. There are already more than 2,000 stationed in the nation’s capital.
Follow the latest on the National Guard shooting in Washington, DC:
The suspect, who hasn’t been identified, rounded the corner at 17th and I Street, just blocks away from the White House, around 2:15 p.m. He opened fire on a pair of Guard members, Metro Police Department executive assistant chief Jeffery Carroll said at a press conference.
Other Guard members engaged in “some back and forth” with the nearly-nude suspect before he was also wounded and taken into custody, Carroll said.
The gunman acted alone and authorities are not currently searching for any additional suspects, officials said.
The gunman who was wounded during the attack was taken into federal custody, but reportedly isn’t cooperating with authorities. Investigators haven’t specified a motive.
The Post reached out to MS Now for comment.
