Camilla Jessen
Afghan asylum recipient ID’d as suspect in D.C. Guard ambush.
Two West Virginia National Guard members were critically injured in an ambush-style shooting just blocks from the White House on Wednesday.
Suspect identified
Authorities later identified the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who arrived in the U.S. in 2021.
Multiple law-enforcement officials told ABC News that Lakanwal entered the country in September 2021 and was granted asylum in April 2025 during the Trump administration.
Officials said the FBI is investigating whether the shooting may have been inspired by an international terrorist group, though no motive has been confirmed.
FBI Director Kash Patel and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said both Guardsmen were in critical condition after the attack. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey initially announced the troops had died, then walked back the statement, citing conflicting information.
Targeted ambush
Metropolitan Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said the shooter “raised a firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard.”
Nearby Guardsmen subdued the attacker after he fell to the ground.
Officials confirmed Lakanwal was also shot, though his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Mayor Bowser said the gunman “appeared to target” the troops, triggering a rapid law-enforcement response from the FBI, ATF, DHS, and U.S. Marshals.
Political fallout
President Donald Trump called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” adding it was “a crime against our entire nation.”
He referenced Department of Homeland Security information to assert the suspect had entered the U.S. under President Biden and said the incident “underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.”
Online, Trump wrote: “The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen… will pay a very steep price.”
Federal response
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth condemned the shooting as a “cowardly, dastardly act,” adding that Trump ordered an additional 500 Guard troops to Washington.
Vice President JD Vance, speaking separately at Fort Campbell, cautioned that investigators “still don’t know the motive.”
National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Steven Nordhaus said in a video message that the force was “devastated by this senseless act of violence” and was preparing to support the families of the wounded service members.
Sources: ABC News
