DC Police have confirmed an elderly couple from Wisconsin has died after four people were struck by lightning Thursday evening near the White House.
James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, of Janesville, Wisconsin, died of their injuries after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park, located directly outside the White House complex, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
The two other people, a man and a woman, were in critical condition, the police department said. Their identities were not immediately released.
Members of the U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service were the first to witness the lightning strike at the park located in the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
They said they immediately notified D.C. Fire and EMS and the Metropolitan Police Department.
Vito Maggiolo, the spokesperson for D.C. Fire and EMS, said they received the call at 6:52 p.m.
The Metropolitan Police Department said they were notified one minute earlier.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers said they found two men and two women unconscious.
U.S. Park Police and members of the Secret Service administered CPR and AED.
“What I want to do is thank them because their agents, their officers witnessed this lightning strike and immediately began to render aid to the four victims which is very critical in helping with survivability,” Maggiolo said.
