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Culture February 01,2024 | Independence Journal Editorial Team

Trump Administration Official In Critical Condition After DC Shooting

Amid skyrocketing crime in Washington, D.C., a former Trump administration official is in the hospital in critical condition after being shot during a vicious carjacking spree.

Mike Gill, who served as chief operating officer of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under former president and current GOP primary frontrunner Donald Trump, was among several individuals shot by a carjacker in Washington, D.C., on Monday night.

Gill was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after being shot while picking up his wife, an education lawyer, just blocks away from the White House on K Street in downtown Washington, D.C., at roughly 5:45 p.m. local time.

“We can confirm that Mike Gill was the victim of the shooting at the 900 block of K Street Northwest on Monday evening and is in critical condition. Out of respect for the family, we have nothing additional to add at this time,” Erica Richardson, a spokesperson for the Gill family, explained in a statement to The Daily Wire.

The suspect reportedly conducted at least two other carjackings and one attempted carjacking during the crime spree. One other victim who was shot by the suspect has since passed away from his injuries. According to police, the suspect entered Gill’s parked vehicle, then shot him before fleeing on foot. Gill collapsed outside of his vehicle.

Citing witness Yolanda Douglas, the Washington Post reported that the victim’s wife exited the building after he had been shot. Douglas told the outlet that the wife “ran toward her husband and grabbed his hand. ‘What happened?’ she asked, but he did not respond.”

Douglas “saw the victim, in a dress shirt and sweater, sprawled on the pavement with one foot still in the passenger’s side of a car. His right hand was twitching as blood pooled around his head,” the Washington Post reported.

The suspect tried unsuccessfully to carjack another vehicle one hour later on Third Street NE, then fatally shot his second victim, Alberto Vasquez, and stole their car.

Police were able to identify the carjacker after speaking with a witness on K Street who recognized him. The car he successfully stole was found in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where the suspect then carjacked a Toyota and later ordered a rideshare, carjacking that vehicle when it arrived.

The carjacker was ultimately stopped after shooting at a Maryland State Police cruiser on D.C. 295 while driving by at around 2:30 a.m on Tuesday morning. Police later caught up to the man while investigating the car he abandoned, where he approached officers with a firearm and was killed by the police.

The suspect has since been identified as 28-year-old Artell Cunningham, who was previously arrested for threatening to shoot people and telling police, “I will kill each and every one of you.” Those charges were downgraded to misdemeanor threats and the case was ultimately dropped thanks to Washington, D.C.’s soft-on-crime policies.

Meanwhile, Gill is still reportedly in critical condition in the hospital, with no new updates being released as of Wednesday evening.

Gill, who is currently serving as vice president at the Housing Policy Council, is an accomplished Republican professional with a long career in politics. He was appointed to be the Republican on the District of Columbia’s Board of Elections in 2016 and served three terms until July 2020. He also served as chief operating officer of the CFTC from January 2017 to July 2019, along with several other prestigious political positions.

Carjackings have more than doubled in the nation’s capital in 2023 to nearly 1,000. Several other prominent political figures have been carjacked in the past year, including Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).

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