By Charlie McCarthy  From Newsmax

screenshot Newsmax TV

A former Trump administration official was fighting for his life after being shot by a gunman suspected of a string of carjackings Monday night in the Washington, D.C., area.

Mike Gill, who served as chief operating officer of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under then-President Donald Trump, was hospitalized in critical condition, Gill’s family told Fox 5 Tuesday night.

Gill, a married father of three, is the senior vice president for Capital Markets at the Housing Policy Council. He previously served as the Republican representative on the D.C. Board of Elections.

In a phone call with Newsmax, a Washington, D.C., police spokesperson cited the department’s press release that confirmed the incident.

At approximately 5:45 p.m. in the 900 block of K Street, Northwest, a suspect approached an occupied vehicle while it was parked along the block, police said. The suspect got inside the vehicle and shot the adult male driver, then exited the vehicle. The suspect fled on foot from the scene.

Gill was picking up his wife from work at the time of the shooting, according to The Washington Post.

Little more than an hour later, the suspect tried, unsuccessfully, to carjack another vehicle in D.C.

At approximately 7:15 p.m., the suspect approached a man and a woman by their car in the 300 block of N Street, Northeast, and demanded the keys, police said. The suspect then shot the man and fled the scene in the victims’ vehicle. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he died.

The murder victim was identified as 35-year-old Alberto Vasquez Jr., police said.

The suspect then committed two additional carjackings in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and shot at a police cruiser before being killed by police officers after approaching them with two firearms.

A woman who walked by moments after Gill was shot, said she 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, the Post reported. His right hand was twitching as blood pooled around his head.

Witness Yolanda Douglas, 39, said a woman ran out of a K Street building, screaming, “Oh, my God, that’s my husband.”

Gill’s family described him as “an amazing husband, father, friend and colleague” with a “wonderful sense of humor” in a statement to Fox 5 on Tuesday.

“He makes friends with everyone — and is always looking for opportunities to bring people together and make them feel included and loved,” the statement read. “His warmth and kindness have touched the lives of many, evident in the outpouring of love and support his family has received during this difficult time.”

Carjackings in D.C. more than doubled from 2022 to 2023 to 950 incidents, the Post reported.

Charlie McCarthy | [email protected]

Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.

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