Investigators led by the FBI’s joint terrorism process drive sought clues on Thursday to what drove an Afghan immigrant to open fireplace on two Nationwide Guard troopers mere blocks from the White Home in what officers known as an “ambush” assault on Thanksgiving eve.
The 2 troopers, a part of a militarized legislation enforcement mission ordered by President Donald Trump months in the past and challenged in courtroom by officers of the District of Columbia, had been hospitalized in crucial situation.
The suspect, who was wounded in an change of gunfire earlier than he was arrested, was recognized by the Division of Homeland Safety as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan nationwide.
Trump, who was at his resort in Florida on the time of the assault, launched a prerecorded video assertion late on Wednesday calling the taking pictures “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.” He stated his administration would “re-examine” all Afghans who got here to the U.S. throughout Joe Biden’s presidency.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers company later stated that it has halted processing of all immigration requests regarding Afghan nationals indefinitely, “pending additional evaluation of safety and vetting protocols.”
In response to the DHS, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 beneath Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program to resettle 1000’s of Afghans who assisted the U.S. through the Afghanistan battle and feared reprisals from Taliban forces who seized management of their homeland after the U.S. withdrawal.
NBC Information, citing an interview with an unnamed relative of the suspect, reported early on Thursday that Lakanwal served within the Afghan military for 10 years alongside U.S. Particular Forces troops and was stationed in Kandahar for a part of that point.
The relative additionally stated Lakanwal was working for on-line retail large Amazon.com the final time they spoke a number of months in the past, in keeping with NBC Information.
The DHS didn’t embody different particulars of his immigration file, however a Trump administration official who spoke on situation of anonymity stated Lakanwal utilized for asylum in December 2024 and was authorized on April 23 of this 12 months, three months after Trump took workplace.
Lakanwal, 29, who resided in Washington state, had no recognized prison historical past, the official stated.
The taking pictures unfolded at noon outdoors a subway station in a bustling business space inside just a few blocks of the White Home. Secret Service brokers positioned the presidential mansion beneath a safety lockdown instantly after the taking pictures as a precaution.
In response to Wednesday’s taking pictures, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the president had requested to ship one other 500 Nationwide Guard troops to affix the greater than 2,000 Guard troopers beforehand mobilized within the nation’s capital.
Vice President JD Vance, who was in Kentucky on Wednesday, stated in a submit on X that the taking pictures proved that the Trump administration’s immigration coverage was justified.
“We should redouble our efforts to deport individuals with no proper to be in our nation,” he stated.
Critics of the Trump administration’s immigration coverage say it has employed illegally harsh techniques and swept up immigrants indiscriminately, together with some with no prison historical past and others right here legally.
Assault outdoors subway station
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has clashed overtly with Trump over the deployment of Guard troops in her metropolis, informed reporters hours after the incident, “it is a focused taking pictures.”
On the similar information briefing, Jeff Carroll, govt assistant chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Division, stated the 2 Guard troopers had been “ambushed” and that the recognized assailant appeared to have acted alone.
The 2 troopers, members of the West Virginia Nationwide Guard, had been on a “high-visibility patrol” outdoors the doorway to a subway station when the suspect “got here across the nook,” drew a weapon and instantly fired on the pair, Carroll stated.
After an change of gunfire, different Nationwide Guard troops subdued the suspect, he stated.
Trump stated in August he was ordering the Nationwide Guard deployment to battle crime in a metropolis he stated had turn out to be unsafe, regardless of objections from District of Columbia officers who challenged the transfer in courtroom as an infringement on native authorities management.
Wednesday’s taking pictures got here 5 days after a federal choose issued a ruling to briefly block Nationwide Guard troops from performing legislation enforcement duties within the district with out the mayor’s approval, however the choose paused the impact of her order till December to permit an enchantment from the Trump administration.
Trump, a Republican, has deployed troops in a number of different Democratic-led cities — Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and Memphis, Tennessee — to fight what he has described as lawlessness and violent unrest over his crackdown on unlawful immigration.
Democratic leaders of these cities have accused Trump of producing pretexts for militarized exhibits of drive to punish political foes.
