BREAKING: U.S. Treasury Building Placed on Lockdown Amid Manhunt for National Guard Shooter, Heightening D.C. Security Fears

Washington, D.C. – November 26, 2025  The U.S. Department of the Treasury, a neoclassical cornerstone of American finance just steps from the White House, has been thrust into a full lockdown as part of a sweeping security sweep following the deadly shooting of two National Guard troops in downtown Washington, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to ABC News late Wednesday.

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 The measure, enacted mere minutes after gunfire erupted near Pennsylvania Avenue, underscores the rapid escalation from isolated incident to potential citywide threat, with federal agents sealing off the building's iconic Hamilton facade amid swirling reports of an at-large gunman.The lockdown order cascaded outward from the White House at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET, enveloping not only the Treasury but also the neighboring Eisenhower Executive Office Building and Federal Reserve headquarters, according to real-time updates from the Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Secret Service.

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 Treasury employees—over 1,000 strong on any given day—were instructed to shelter in place or evacuate via secure rear exits, with non-essential staff herded into underground parking garages as tactical teams in ballistic vests swept corridors and conference rooms. "It's protocol, but it feels anything but routine," said one anonymous Treasury analyst, speaking from a cordoned-off sidewalk. "Screens went dark, alarms blared, and suddenly it's lights out on the economy's nerve center."The Treasury's lockdown was triggered by its proximity to the shooting site—less than a quarter-mile away at 17th Street NW—where the suspect allegedly fired upon the Guard patrol before fleeing into the Farragut Square labyrinth of Metro tunnels and office alleys.

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 Eyewitness video, shared widely on X, captured the pandemonium: Pedestrians scattering as uniformed officers established a perimeter, their radios crackling with urgent calls of "Suspect heading east toward Treasury—armed and dangerous."

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 Barricades of concrete Jersey barriers and Dumpsters now ring the Treasury's perimeter, with snipers positioned on adjacent rooftops and drone swarms humming overhead, monitoring for secondary threats.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was in a closed-door briefing on inflation-protected securities when the shots rang out, was evacuated to a secure off-site location along with key deputies.

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 In a statement issued via the department's public affairs office at 3:15 p.m., Bessent emphasized continuity of operations: "The safety of our personnel is paramount, but America's financial backbone will not bend. Critical functions, including debt payments and sanctions enforcement, proceed uninterrupted from redundant sites." Still, the lockdown halted routine activities, from currency printing oversight to international wire transfers, potentially rippling into minor delays for global markets when trading resumes Thursday.This precautionary clampdown arrives against a tense backdrop of recent federal disruptions. Just weeks after the end of a protracted government shutdown that idled Treasury operations and furloughed thousands, today's events evoke fresh vulnerabilities in the capital's layered defenses.

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 Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, coordinating the response from DHS headquarters, linked the lockdown to "credible intelligence of possible copycats" inspired by the attack on the Guard deployment—a force President Trump has defended amid ongoing court battles over its legality.

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 "The Treasury isn't just a building; it's a symbol. We're locking it down to send a message: We protect our own," Noem posted on X, where #DCLockdown trended with over 200,000 mentions in under an hour.

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Social media erupted with a mix of alarm and speculation. Conservative firebrand Alex Jones live-streamed from a nearby vantage point, decrying the incident as "deep state blowback" against Trump's security surge, his broadcast drawing 100,000 viewers in minutes.

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 Liberal commentators, meanwhile, pivoted to criticism of the Guard's visibility, with one viral thread reading: "Militarizing D.C. streets invites tragedy—now the Treasury's a fortress because of it."

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 Commuters near the Treasury reported gridlock on the Red Line, with Metro stations shuttered and rideshares rerouted, stranding workers in the chill November drizzle.As the suspect—now in custody after a dramatic takedown at Farragut West—faces interrogation, the Treasury lockdown persists into the evening, with no timeline for lifting announced.

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 FBI bomb squads have swept the building's vaults and lobbies as a hedge against explosives, while Treasury's cyber teams monitor for digital fallout. One Guardsman remains in critical condition at George Washington University Hospital, his comrade stable but the city forever altered.In the shadow of the Treasury's gilded dome, where the fate of the dollar is forged, today's lockdown serves as a stark tableau: Power's proximity breeds peril. Federal officials promise a thorough after-action review, but for now, the locks stay bolted, and Washington exhales—warily. Updates as the investigation deepens.

Maria F. Gonzalez

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