He was bleeding out in a hospital bed, and still, the rage hadn't left him. "F--- the White House," he snarled at medics. Then, three times, he begged: "Kill me, kill me, kill me."
The man uttering those words was 45-year-old Michael Marx—a Texas felon who, one day earlier, had unleashed a hail of gunfire near the Washington Monument, inches from the path of the Vice President's motorcade.
It started when a Secret Service agent spotted Marx concealing a firearm. The agent gave chase, shouting commands. Marx ran. Then he turned—and pulled the trigger.
The bullet didn't hit the agents. It slammed into a civilian instead. A child. Just a kid crossing the street with his family.
Secret Service officers returned fire. Three rounds found Marx—one in the hand, one in the left arm, one in the upper abdomen. He crumpled, bleeding, but still alive.
As agents rushed to give him first aid, they had no idea that Vice President JD Vance's motorcade was rolling down that same street, leaving the White House at that exact moment.
Investigators recovered a Sig Sauer P365 handgun at the scene, loaded with 9mm ammunition. Marx had no license to carry in Washington, D.C. He wasn't even using his real name—records show at least two aliases: Patrick Michael and Michael Zavici.
Now he faces three federal charges: assault on officers with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm during a violent crime, and illegal possession of a gun as a convicted felon. Prosecutors are vowing maximum penalties.
"This defendant carried an illegal firearm into the heart of Washington, opened fire at Secret Service officers near a crowded intersection, and shot an innocent bystander crossing the street with his family," the U.S. Attorney declared.
The message was clear: bring gun violence steps from the seat of government, and the full weight of federal prosecution will follow.
