The weapons that National Guard troops now carry in Washington, D.C.

Washington – The majority of more than 2,300 troops in the National Guard deployed in Washington to support the police began weapon this weekend. But as in other deployments of the National Guard, the troops were invited to use their M17 pistols and their powerful M4 rifles only for self -defense or as a last resort, two officials of the Ministry of Defense said in NBC News.

Under the rules of engagement, the murderous force is only authorized “on a reasonable belief in an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury,” said one of the defense officials. And a bad actor must have the “capacity and opportunity” to put a member of the guard in danger or to cause serious bodily injury. The objective for the members of the guard, added the manager, is to defend himself or defend himself or other people.

The members of the armed guard will carry the type of weapon on which they are normally delivered and trained, generally M17 handguns and semi-automatic M4 rifles, similar to Assaut-style rifles, said the officials of the Ministry of Defense. Some guard members will wear M9 pistols.

Military weapons are similar to those used by local police services in the United States. The M4 is a standard semi-automatic rifle and has roughly the same capacities as the semi-automatic rifles used by law enforcement organizations.

The M17 handgun is essentially the same as the SIG Sauer 320 pistol, the type of semi-automatic pistol that the police across the country has been using for years. Washington police also use fist weapons and semi-automatic rifles.

Similar to other missions

The mission of the troops in Washington is similar to that of the members of the guard who are activated to support the police in other states, officials said.

The main difference is that a governor would normally call for custody instead of the president’s federalization, as has happened in the District of Columbia. In Washington, the mayor generally submits a request for activation of the guard through the Secretary of Defense.

After the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, signed a prescription allowing the guard deployed to DC to carry weapons last week, some began to transport them to places around the city. This deployment comes from DC and six states: Louisiana, Ohio, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginie-Western.

While officials estimate that once, there could be 500 to 800 members of the guard in the streets, the number fluctuates daily according to needs and circumstances, officials of the Ministry of Defense said. And only the members of the guard operating in certain areas and on certain missions in Washington will be armed, they added.

For example, the members of the guard who exercise embellishment to national monuments will generally not be armed. But those who are so-called presence patrols could be, said those responsible. The decision to know if the members of the guard are armed in certain places in the city belongs to the local commander.

Arming the members of the National Guard during the federal missions is common. Guard troops deployed for a federal mission in Los Angeles this year also received their weapons issued per unit, according to a third manager of the Ministry of Defense. NBC News has not been able to identify any example of members of the guard members who draw their rifles or pistols in Los Angeles.

Trump’s statements

President Donald Trump said his use of the custody to support local police was one of his efforts to rid the national capital of violent crimes. And an American official said that Arming the goalkeeper in certain districts was a preventive step, essentially sending a signal to anyone who might target the guard not to do so.

So far, there have been few incidents in Washington involving members of the guard. But on Saturday, members of the Mississippi National Guard responded to a call for protection against a DC resident who said that a aggressor threatened passers -by.

The members of the guard have formed a protective barrier between the person and the alleged victims while informed the local police. The American Capitol police arrested the person and obtained declarations of the members of the guard involved, according to a spokesperson for the deployment of the guard in Washington.

Trump said on Monday that due to his deployment of the guard, Washington had not had a murder for 11 days and said that the city had spent more than a week without murder. In fact, local police data show that Washington spent 16 days without murder this year, from February 25 to March 12.