National Guard in critical condition after Washington DC shooting
Two National Guard members are in critical condition after a shooting near the White House in Washington, DC.
The motive for the fatal shooting of two West Virginia National Guard soldiers in the nation’s capital remains unclear as federal authorities accuse Afghans of ambushing troops in a “targeted” attack.
National Guard troops were on a “high-security patrol” near the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 26, when a suspect came around a corner and opened fire, according to Deputy Metropolitan Police Chief Jeff Carroll. After a “back-and-forth exchange,” other units subdued the gunman and took him into custody, Carroll said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the two injured Guard members were in critical condition at a local hospital. They have not been publicly identified.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey called the attack “an act of unspeakable violence.”
Officials said the gunman appeared to have acted alone. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed that the suspect entered the United States from Afghanistan in 2021 under a Biden administration-era program.
President Trump ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to be sent to Washington. Thousands of troops are already deployed to the nation’s capital as part of the president’s immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities. )
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he visited two West Virginia National Guard soldiers who remain hospitalized after being shot in a targeted attack by authorities.
“Today I visited a wounded National Guard member in the hospital,” Driscoll wrote in a post on X on Wednesday, Nov. 26. “My heart breaks for them, their families, and those affected by this horrific attack in our nation’s capital.”
Neither victim has been identified. Driscroll did not provide any information about their condition.
“Everyone in the National Guard made a courageous decision to serve their communities and nation,” he wrote. “They work selflessly to protect our way of life. Please keep our Guard members in your prayers.”
–Michael Collins
Speaking on November 26 in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday, President Trump said the Department of Homeland Security is “confident” that the suspect in custody in connection with the shooting entered the United States from Afghanistan. He claimed the shooting was a “heinous assault” and an “act of terrorism.”
The president has repeatedly used anti-immigrant rhetoric and reiterated that the suspect in the shooting will pay “the harshest price possible.” He called Afghanistan a “hellhole on Earth” and said the suspects were “airlifted in by the Biden administration in September 2021.”
President Trump claimed that the Biden administration had allowed “20 million unidentified and unvetted foreign nationals” into the country, and said the United States “must re-examine every foreign national who entered our country from Afghanistan under the Biden administration.”
Following his speech, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it was “indefinitely suspending the processing of immigration applications for Afghan nationals pending further review of our security and vetting procedures.”
The suspect’s identity has not been released by law enforcement officials. Investigators have identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Rakanwar, 29, an Afghan from Washington state, Reuters reported, citing unnamed officials.
Lakhanwal entered the United States under a special visa program for Afghans who supported the United States during the Afghanistan war and are vulnerable to retaliation from the ruling Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal, officials told Reuters. However, Lakhanwal has overstayed his visa and is in the country illegally, officials said.
In a post on X, Noem said the suspect came to the United States from Afghanistan in September 2021 under a Biden administration program called “Operation Welcoming Allies.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced in the wake of the shooting that it would suspend all immigration applications from Afghan nationals.
“Effective immediately, the processing of all immigration applications involving Afghan nationals will be suspended indefinitely pending further review of our security and vetting procedures,” the agency said in a Nov. 26 post on X.
Contributed by: Reuters
