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Gunman kills woman, two children during six-hour standoff before injuring cop in Christmas day shootout

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A woman and two children were killed before a police officer was injured during a six-hour standoff with a gunman who barricaded himself inside an apartment on Christmas Day.

A woman with a gunshot wound was found dead at 3:45 p.m. outside the apartment in Phoenix, Ariz., in what appears to be a domestic violence incident, according to Sgt. Jonathan Howard.

The man then barricaded himself inside the apartment with an infant and an 11-year-old while authorities tried to negotiate with the hopes of rescuing the two children, the Arizona Republic reported. 

When police realized the baby was dead, they deployed an explosive to distract the gunman and tried to make entry, prompting the gunman to open fire, the Republic reported.

A police officer was injured by shrapnel in the resulting shootout and transported to the hospital in stable condition, Howard said.

A police officer who was injured in the resulting shootout was transported to the hospital in stable condition, Howard said. The gunman, who was not injured, was taken into custody.

A police officer who was injured in the resulting shootout was transported to the hospital in stable condition, Howard said. The gunman, who was not injured, was taken into custody.

(ABC 15 News)

The gunman, who did not appear to be injured, was taken into custody around 10 p.m. local time, according to police.

He was visiting Phoenix for Christmas and had a relationship with the woman, although police did not clarify their status, the Republic reported. 

Both children were found dead inside the apartment. It remains unclear when they were fatally shot, although Howard said it was possible all three killings occurred Monday afternoon. 

Kristen Alexander, who was escorted back to her apartment in the Highland Apartment complex after spending more than five hours outside in a parking lot, told the Republic, “I’m terrified of who our neighbors are.”

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CHP officer killed in Christmas Eve freeway crash in Hayward

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  • The California Highway Patrol officer killed in the crash on 880 was identified as Andrew Camilleri, 33. He leaves behind a wife and three children. Photo: CHP

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The California Highway Patrol officer killed in the crash on 880 was identified as Andrew Camilleri, 33. He leaves behind a wife and three children.

The California Highway Patrol officer killed in the crash on 880 was identified as Andrew Camilleri, 33. He leaves behind a wife and three children.

Photo: CHP






A California Highway Patrol officer, just hours from getting off duty and going home to open Christmas presents with his wife and three young children, was killed when an impaired driver swerved off the road and slammed into his patrol vehicle, which was parked near an on-ramp to Interstate 880 in Hayward, the CHP said Monday.

Andrew Camilleri Sr., 33, of Tracy, a CHP officer for a year and a half, was killed in the crash at 11:20 p.m. on Christmas Eve, CHP officials said. His partner, Officer Jonathan Velasquez, was treated at a hospital for lacerations and released Monday, said Sgt. Rob Nacke, a CHP spokesman.


“Today is not a holiday for the Highway Patrol. Today is about a tragic loss of one of our own, one by the name of Andrew Camilleri, who we will consider a hero now and forever,” CHP Assistant Chief Ernest Sanchez said at a news conference Monday in Hayward.

Sanchez said the driver who hit the officers, a 22-year-old Hayward man, was hospitalized with serious injuries. He is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, specifically marijuana. The driver’s name has not been released.

“I come to you with a broken heart, but also anger,” Sanchez said. “This person chose to drive while under the influence of alcohol and also drugs, and this needs to stop.”


1 CHP officer was killed and another injured in a crash on 880 in Hayward


Media: FoxM9NJ



The two officers were assigned to a “maximum enforcement” Christmas Eve patrol for drunken drivers and speeders and were parked on the shoulder of southbound I-880 near the Winton Avenue on-ramp when a red Cadillac moving at a high rate of speed drifted off the roadway and struck their vehicle from behind, Sanchez said.

Sanchez said both officers were sitting in the patrol vehicle with their seat belts on. Velasquez was in the driver’s seat, while Camilleri was in the front passenger seat.

“The impact was so severe that it turned a utility vehicle into a very small compact vehicle,” Sanchez said. “So it kind of gives you an idea of the speeds that were involved.”

He said he had to notify Camilleri’s wife, Rosanna, of her husband’s death. The couple have a 12-year-old daughter and two sons, ages 2 and 6.

“The children were expecting their father to come home and help open Christmas presents,” Sanchez said.

He said the driver responsible for the fatality will face serious felony charges when he is released from the hospital.

“This individual was coming home from a party and obviously had too much to drink and maybe too much to smoke,” Sanchez said. “We have enough evidence and enough statements that have been made today to allow us to charge this individual.”

Camilleri joined the Highway Patrol in August 2016 and graduated from the CHP Academy on March 3, the patrol said. He was assigned to the Hayward area office.

He grew up in the Tracy area and graduated in 2002 from West High School in Tracy, according to an article published in April in the Tracy Press. While in high school he participated in the CHP Tracy office’s Explorer Program for students interested in law enforcement careers.

He worked for 13 years for Clark Pest Control in the Tracy area before finally realizing his dream of becoming a member of the CHP.

“Andrew was drawn to this profession due to his courage, his integrity and his desire to serve,” said Capt. Tim Pearson, commander of the CHP Hayward area office. “Andrew was a great man who loved his job, who loved his family.”

Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, released a statement Monday lamenting the loss of Camilleri. The governor said flags at the state Capitol would be flown at half-staff in the officer’s honor.

“Anne and I are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of Officer Camilleri, who died yesterday while working to keep our communities safe,” Brown said. “We join his family, friends and the entire California Highway Patrol in mourning his death and in honoring his sacrifice.”

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko

How to help CHP Officer Andrew Camilleri’s family

For those wishing to help Officer Camilleri’s family, the CHP says the California Association of Highway Patrolmen Credit Union will establish a benevolence fund that will direct all donations to the officer’s immediate family members. The account is scheduled to be opened Tuesday afternoon, and the fundraising site will be available at www.facebook.com/chpgoldengate.

Storm brings white Christmas to Midwest and Northeast

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Dreaming of a white — and windy — Christmas?

A winter storm that brought several inches of snow to parts of the Midwest blanketed some areas in the Northeast on Monday, snarling holiday travel.

As much as a foot of snow could fall on New England, with some areas in the region at risk of freezing rain, according to the National Weather Service. Snow inundated the Boston metro area at a rate of one inch an hour on Monday morning, according to the Weather Channel.

The storm was also pummeling Maine on Monday afternoon with heavy snow after making its way through much of the Northeast, according to the Weather Channel. More than a foot of snow has fallen so far in parts of the state.

A winter storm warning remained in effect for parts of Maine until 7 p.m. ET Monday evening, with additional snow accumulation expected, according to the National Weather Service.

“Plan on difficult travel conditions, including during the evening commute,” the weather service said.



Less snow fell in southern New England, with most areas reporting 4 inches or less, according to NBC Boston.

More than 2,700 flights were delayed and nearly 150 others canceled across the U.S. as of 4:30 p.m. ET Monday, according to FlightAware, the flight data website. Several flights out of Logan International Airport in Boston were postponed or nixed, leaving some flyers stuck on the runway.

Midwesterners spent the morning digging out. Around 3 inches of snow fell in Chicago, where the hometown Bears beat the Cleveland Browns at a Soldier Field filled with shivering fans and freshly fallen powder on Sunday.

A half-foot or more was recorded in parts of western Nebraska and more than 4 inches blanketed parts of Missouri and Michigan. In northern Indiana, police said slick and icy road conditions could still make driving difficult for holiday travelers.

Image: People walk on snow covered streets in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago


Image: People walk on snow covered streets in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago

Strong winds were also set to whip through the area, with several inches of snow likely along the Great Lakes.

That means “a white Christmas for a lot of locations which originally looked a little questionable whether or not we’d have at least an inch of snow on the ground,” said Danielle Bank, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. “We’re going to see a lot of 3- to 5-inch amounts. We know that for sure.”



The Interstate 95 corridor south of Boston was expected avoid the snow, though not the rain and wind. Gusts of 40-55 mph were likely to blow through Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, according to Frank Giannasca, a senior meteorologist for The Weather Channel.

The windchill would make it feel like 20-degree weather, he added.

Travelers in parts of southern New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey could face a slippery morning with freezing rain and/or sleet making holiday journeys hazardous.

Image: A man walks a dog in St. Charles, Mo.


Image: A man walks a dog in St. Charles, Mo.

The winter weather is expected to stick around through the New Year. Forecasters say repeated surges of bitter, arctic air will keep temperatures below average across the northern United States.

North Korea calls latest UN sanctions ‘an act of war’

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(CNN)A new round of United Nations sanctions against North Korea are an “act of war,” Pyongyang said Sunday, adding that the US and other nations which supported the strict measures will pay a heavy price.

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Trump: ‘People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again’

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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump speak on the phone with children at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017.

 (Associated Press)

When he ran for the White House in 2016, Donald Trump promised to make America great again.

Late Sunday night, on what appeared to be a busy Christmas Eve at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president took a bow for what he views as his successful role in making Christmas merry again.

“People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again,” the president tweeted shortly before 10 p.m. EST. “I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!”

Sunday’s tweet seemed as if the president were claiming “mission accomplished” following some comments he made in October at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington.

“We’re getting near that beautiful Christmas season that people don’t talk about anymore. They don’t use the word Christmas because it’s not politically correct,” the president said to cheers. “You go to department stores and they’ll say ‘Happy New Year,’ or they’ll say other things and it’ll be red, they’ll have it painted.”

“Well, guess what? We’re saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again.”

Earlier Sunday, the president and first lady Melania Trump released an official photo, showing them making calls to children across the U.S. as part of the traditional NORAD tracking of Santa’s annual trip around the globe.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump make Christmas calls to children from their home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 24, 2017.

 (White House photo)

The president and first lady each spoke to 11 children in all. The kids ranged in age from 5 to 12.

Trump also communicated to U.S. troops who were spending the holiday overseas.

“Today and every day, we’re incredibly thankful for you and for your families,” Trump told the troops via a video hook-up at Mar-a-Lago. “Your families have been tremendous. Always underappreciated, the military families. The greatest people on Earth.”

The president was addressing members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard stationed in Qatar, Kuwait and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and patrolling the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East.

The president complimented each branch of the armed forces, starting with the Army’s “Iron Brigade” combat team in Kuwait, which he said is performing a “vital mission” by partnering with the Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian and Jordanian armies.

He said a Kuwait-based, Marine Corps air-ground task force has provided more than 4,000 flight hours of close air support in the campaign against the Islamic State group, and he thanked sailors aboard the USS Sampson for defending “high-value assets” in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump communicates with U.S. troops via a video hook-up at his home in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 24, 2017.

 (Associated Press)

Trump also singled out the Air Force’s 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron in Qatar for engaging more than 700 IS and Taliban targets in five separate countries and winning two trophies in an Air Force bomb competition.

He showered the most praise on the Coast Guard, which impressed him with its rescue operations during a devastating hurricane season.

“You’ve done such an incredible job in Texas and Florida and Puerto Rico,” Trump said. “Many Republicans are very happy but, I have to tell you, the people of Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and lots of other states are even more happy. What a job you’ve done … saved thousands and thousands of lives.”

In closing, Trump offered thanks to those who are spending time away from their families to “defend all of our families, our freedoms and our pride.”

“Every American heart is thankful to you and we’re asking God to watch over you and to watch over your families,” he said, before he asked journalists to leave the room so he could begin answering any service member questions.

“Every American heart is thankful to you and we’re asking God to watch over you and to watch over your families.”

– President Donald Trump, in a Christmas Eve call to U.S. troops stationed overseas

Trump began the day by tweeting against a top FBI official he has suggested is biased against him, as well as the news media. The president also spent several hours playing golf at his private club in West Palm Beach.

Later, Trump ate Christmas Eve dinner with his family before attending worship services with the first lady at the Episcopal church in Palm Beach where they were married in 2005.

Fox News’ Joseph Weber and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

Guatemala Will Move Its Israel Embassy to Jerusalem, Following Trump’s Lead

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The consensus of international law is that Jerusalem’s status is unresolved, that claims of sovereignty by Israel are invalid and that the issue must be settled in negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Mr. Trump insisted that he was merely recognizing reality and not prejudging negotiations on the future borders of the city, but Palestinians saw the move as siding with Israel on the most delicate issue in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Mr. Trump’s decision by a vote of 128 to 9, with 35 countries abstaining and 21 countries absent.

Mr. Trump had threatened to cut off aid to countries that did not take the side of the United States, but he has not yet done so, and experts say it would be difficult to do. Many Muslim-majority countries that voted for the resolution, like Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, are strategic partners of the United States in the region.

Guatemala was one of seven countries to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution, along with Honduras, Togo, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia — mostly tiny countries heavily dependent on American aid.

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Guatemala was one of the first nations to recognize the state of Israel upon its establishment in 1948.

Mr. Morales’s decision was immediately seen as an effort to curry favor with Mr. Trump and, perhaps, to distract attention from his political problems at home. His brother and his son are under investigation by an anticorruption commission that has been strongly backed by the United States and the United Nations.

Mr. Morales has clashed with the commission and even tried to expel its chief in August before he was stopped by the country’s highest court.

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The commission relies on a close relationship with Guatemala’s attorney general to pursue its cases. Washington will be watching to see whether a new attorney general, to be appointed next year when the term of Attorney General Thelma Aldana expires, will prove as committed to collaborating with the commission, known by its Spanish initials as the Cicig.

Winning the favor of the Trump administration could prove helpful to Mr. Morales if the new attorney general he selects proves less cooperative with the commission.

Guatemala is also awaiting the approval of aid under an Obama administration initiative set up to stem Central American migration to the United States.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in 1967 and is home to sites important to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Under multiple Security Council decisions, East Jerusalem and the West Bank are considered occupied territory.

Mr. Trump’s announcement set off weeks of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces that have left 12 Palestinians dead.

Correction: December 25, 2017

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated Benjamin Netanyahu’s title. He is Israel’s prime minister, not president.

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Pennsylvania cop shooting suspect’s ‘a chicken, not a terrorist’: Ex-brother-in-law

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The man who authorities say was killed after attempting to gun down several police officers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, “is not a terrorist,” a family member told ABC News on Saturday.

A day after Ahmed El-Mofty allegedly opened fire in what officials said was a deliberate attack on multiple police officers Friday, Ahmed Soweilam told ABC News that El-Mofty was a timid family man.

“He is a chicken,” Soweilam, who described himself as El-Mofty’s ex-brother-in-law, said. “He is not a terrorist.”

He said the 51-year-old El-Mofty was a native of Egypt and had two children with his wife, from whom he has been estranged for about six years.

El-Mofty shot at police from at three locations in Pennsylvania’s capital before responding police officers shot and killed him, Dauphin County prosecutors said.

One officer was injured in the shootings, but her injuries are considered non-life-threatening and she was reportedly “doing well,” Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said.

Marisco also told ABC News that his office is trying to determine whether El-Mofty’s attacks on law enforcement officers were motivated by terrorism.

Harrisburg Police block off sections of the street after a shooting, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. A prosecutor says theres no doubt a gunman who fired at police in several locations in the capital city before they shot and killed him was targeting policThe Associated Press
Harrisburg Police block off sections of the street after a shooting, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. A prosecutor says there’s “no doubt” a gunman who fired at police in several locations in the capital city before they shot and killed him was targeting polic

While local authorities continue to stress they are still investigating if it was terrorism, Department of Homeland Security Acting Press Secretary Tyler Houlton issued a statement on Twitter Saturday evening referring to the shooting as “a terror attack.” The statement was issued as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing criticism of chain migration, which allows family members to sponsor relatives for immigration.

“The Department of Homeland Security can confirm the suspect involved in a terror attack in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and another suspect arrested on terror-related money laundering charges were both beneficiaries of extended chain migration.”

Houlton’s second reference is to a woman on Long Island who was charged with using bitcoin to support ISIS activities.

Soweilam said El-Mofty visited the Middle East, but stressed he was a gentle man.

Dauphin County prosecutors, Marisco said, are looking closely at an October trip to the Middle East that El-Mofty took, and want to know where he was living, which houses of worship he possibly attended, and whether he was employed when he allegedly attempted to attack the cops.

The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are also involved in the investigation, the prosecutor confirmed.

The first shooting took place at about 4:10 p.m. when El-Mofty allegedly opened fire on a Capitol Police officer in his cruiser, striking the vehicle several times, but missing the officer. The shooting took place just steps from the Pennsylvania state Capitol Building. About a half hour later, the same man is suspected to have fired at a female officer who was struck once.

Capitol Police pursued the suspect to a residential area, who then allegedly opened fire on them with two handguns, Marsico said. The officers fired back, striking and killing the suspect. None of the officers was struck.

Marsico said there was “no doubt” the man was targeting police officers.

Ahmed Aminamin El-Mofty, 51, allegedly shot at police officers in Harrisburg, Pa., three times before being killed on Dec. 22, 2017.Dauphin County District Attorneys Office
Ahmed Aminamin El-Mofty, 51, allegedly shot at police officers in Harrisburg, Pa., three times before being killed on Dec. 22, 2017.

“We are asking the public if they have any information about Mr. El-Mofty to please call 911 and let us know, anyone that has any information about him,” Marsico said at a Friday night press conference.

“This could’ve been a really tragic incident with this individual firing many shots at police cars in downtown Harrisburg in the midst of rush hour traffic on Friday afternoon, and then coming up here in a residential neighborhood and firing again many shots.”

When asked about specific ties to terrorism, Marsico said an investigation would reveal that information and cautioned, “We don’t want people to run wild with speculation.”

“At first it sounded like firecrackers,” eyewitness Michael Burton told Harrisburg ABC affiliate WHTM. “Then I heard like a barrage of shots and I assume that’s when officers shot back.”

“We got to the alley up there and the cop was there, he had his long rifle out. He said, ‘Get back.’ Then the cop came down, put the tape across.”

“You shoot at the cops, you get what you get,” Burton said.

ABC News’ M.L. Nestel contributed to this report.

Andrew McCabe, FBI’s Embattled Deputy, Is Expected to Retire

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He dealt with the F.B.I. investigation into whether Hillary Clinton mishandled classified information when she used a private email server. Republicans, including Mr. Trump, have relentlessly criticized the F.B.I. for the way it handled that investigation. Mrs. Clinton was not charged, nor were any of her aides. Mr. McCabe has also been deeply involved in the F.B.I.’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and the potential involvement of the Trump campaign.

The Russia investigation is being led by a special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who has already charged four people associated with Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign. One of them, a foreign policy adviser, has pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with the Russians, while another pleaded guilty to lying about his conversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Mr. Mueller’s inquiry has infuriated the president, who has called the investigation a witch hunt and has pressed repeatedly for a shake-up at the F.B.I. Mr. McCabe was deputy director when the F.B.I. opened the investigation in July 2016.

The president crowed on Saturday that James A. Baker, the F.B.I. general counsel, who was seen as an ally of Mr. Comey’s, would soon step down from that post, although he will remain at the bureau.

Mr. McCabe became a political piñata after his wife decided to run as a Democrat for a Virginia State Senate seat. As part of her campaign, she accepted nearly $500,000 in contributions from the political organization of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend of Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Pressure on Mr. McCabe and Mr. Wray intensified this month after The New York Times reported that a top F.B.I. lawyer and counterintelligence agent traded disparaging text messages about the president. Both the agency and the lawyer had worked closely on the Clinton and Russia investigations. However, Mr. Mueller decided to pull the agent off the Russia investigation. The lawyer, who was close to Mr. McCabe, had already left Mr. Mueller’s team by the time the texts were discovered.

Republicans seized on the texts to claim that the F.B.I.’s leadership was politically slanted. Agents have rejected that assertion, calling it insulting and untrue.

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Mr. McCabe, who is seen as highly intelligent, rose quickly through the ranks of the F.B.I., eventually running national security, then the bureau’s second-largest field office, before moving back to headquarters, where he was put on track to be deputy director. He has many supporters in the F.B.I. who consider him beyond reproach.

His defenders say he has done his job admirably in the face of intense partisan attacks while navigating crisis after crisis.

“The political hit job on McCabe — his supposed ideological bias, the fact his wife ran for office as a Democrat, the attacks on his competence — are way out of line,” said Frank Montoya Jr., a former senior F.B.I. official who retired in 2016 and worked closely with Mr. McCabe. “The people who are making these baseless accusations don’t know McCabe. I do. The guy’s a total pro. His only motivation is to support and defend the Constitution.”

His detractors see Mr. McCabe as an ambitious creature of Washington who did not spend enough time as an agent working with informants and making cases. Those critical of Mr. McCabe believe he lacked the operational experience to become director and needed to spend more time in the field.

But even among some of those who dislike Mr. McCabe, he earned their grudging respect when he stood up to Mr. Trump and defended the F.B.I. and Mr. Comey’s tenure during a heated congressional hearing in May while he was acting director.

Mr. McCabe’s plan to retire at some point after he was eligible to retire was first reported by The Washington Post. Mr. McCabe will most likely follow the path of other highly qualified F.B.I. senior officials eligible to retire who leave after securing a lucrative job in the private sector.

Officials say that Mr. Wray is considering David L. Bowdich, currently the third-ranking official in the bureau, to replace Mr. McCabe. Mr. Bowdich ran the F.B.I.’s Los Angeles field office before coming to Washington. He is best known for being the public face of the F.B.I. in California after the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack.


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Officials: US agrees to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine

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WASHINGTON —The Trump administration has approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Friday, aiming to fortify the former Soviet republic military as it fights separatists backed by Russia.

The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles that Ukraine has long sought to boost its defenses against tanks that have rolled through eastern Ukraine during violence that has killed more than 10,000 since 2014. Previously, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with support equipment and training, and has let private companies sell some small arms like rifles.

The officials describing the plan weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly and demanded anonymity.

The move is likely to escalate tensions between the United States and Russia, as President Donald Trump contends with ongoing questions about whether he’s too hesitant to confront the Kremlin. Ukraine accuses Russia of sending the tanks, and the U.S. says Moscow is arming, training and fighting alongside the separatists.

Trump had been considering the plan for some time after the State Department and the Pentagon signed off earlier this year. President Barack Obama also considered sending lethal weapons to Ukraine.

The State Department, responsible for overseeing foreign military sales, would not confirm that anti-tank missiles or other lethal weapons would be sent. But in a statement late Friday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. had decided to provide “enhanced defensive capabilities” to help Ukraine build its military long-term, defend its sovereignty and “deter further aggression.”

“U.S. assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself,” Nauert said.

The White House’s National Security Council declined to comment.

Although the portable Javelin anti-tank missiles can kill, proponents for granting them to Ukraine have long argued they are considered “defensive” because the Ukrainians would use them to defend their territory and deter the Russians, not to attack a foreign country or seize new territory.

Under law, the State Department must tell Congress of planned foreign military sales, triggering a review period in which lawmakers can act to stop the sale. It was unclear whether the administration had formally notified Congress, but lawmakers are unlikely to try to block it given that Democrats and Republicans alike have long called on the government to take the step.