A former Trump administration official is fighting for his life after he was shot Monday night by a gunman suspected in a series of carjackings in the District of Columbia, New York Post reports.
Mike Gill, who served as chief operating officer of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during Donald Trump’s presidency, was critically wounded in the shooting and remained hospitalised Tuesday night, his family told Fox5 Washington DC television station.
The gunman shot and killed another victim whose car he stole and is believed to be involved in three other attempted or successful carjackings, as well as two incidents in which he shot at police. The suspect was killed by police officers after he approached them with two firearms in Maryland.
Police said the man, who has not been named, began his string of crimes around 5:45 p.m. Monday by entering Gill’s parked car outside office buildings on K Street NW, shooting him in the head and fleeing on foot.
Authorities are looking into whether the man was trying to steal Gill’s car when he shot him.
According to the Washington Post, Gill, who is senior vice president for capital markets at the Housing Policy Council and previously represented Republicans on the DC Board of Elections, was picking up his wife from work at the time of the shooting.
Witness Yolanda Douglas told the newspaper she saw the victim prostrate on the pavement with the car door open and one foot on the passenger side of the car. He was wearing a shirt and jumper, his arm was twitching and blood was caked around his head. Douglas saw a woman come out of a building a block away with a frantic cry of “Oh my God, it’s my husband!” and run to him, grabbing his arm.
As paramedics arrived and loaded him onto a stretcher, Gill’s car keys and another small metal object fell out. A first responder said it was a shell casing, confirming that he had been shot, Douglas told the Washington Post.
Gill’s family described him as a “wonderful husband, father, friend and colleague” with a “wonderful sense of humour” in a statement to Fox5 on Tuesday. They said:
He makes friends with everyone – and is always looking for opportunities to bring people together and make them feel included and loved. 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 the suspect allegedly shot Gill, he unsuccessfully tried to steal another vehicle. Then, the perpetrator fatally shot 35-year-old driver Alberto Vasquez Jr. and stole his grey 2016 Chrysler 200, authorities said.
Investigators linked the three incidents and identified a suspect they believe is involved in all three crimes. The carjacker continued his criminal activity by abandoning the Chrysler and moving into a Toyota Camry, which he reportedly stole from a hit-and-run driver in Montgomery County. He then abandoned that vehicle and stole a Nissan Rogue in University Park in Prince George’s County, police said.
Early the next morning, at 2:30 a.m., authorities learned that someone driving the Nissan shot at a Maryland State Police vehicle that had stopped to assist a vehicle that had broken down on I-95 near Route 198. The bullet hit the bonnet and did not hit the police officer, authorities said.
The same Nissan was used to fire at a marked police car on DC 295 near Exit 1. At least one bullet hit the driver’s side door, but the police officer was not injured.
According to authorities, at about 4:30 a.m., New Carrollton police spotted an empty Nissan in a commercial lane in Prince George’s County. The suspect approached officers with two firearms and was shot by two officers who opened fire on him.
According to the Washington Post, after carjackings more than doubled in the nation’s capital from 2022 to 2023, reaching 950 cases.
But officials believe the motive for Monday-Tuesday’s rampage was not material gain, but the actions of an insane man suffering from a mental disorder. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the crimes were “indiscriminate” and “unthinkable,” the publication reported.
