Four people were critically injured following a lightning strike Thursday evening in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House, authorities said.
The four patients, two men and two women, were all taken to area hospitals in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Vito Maggiolo, a spokesperson for the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, said in a Thursday evening news briefing.
The lightning strike was reported at 6:52 p.m. The victims were near a statue of Andrew Jackson, Maggiolo said, adding that “it appeared they were in the vicinity of a tree.”
