Fresh insights have surfaced regarding a shooting incident that left two guardsmen gravely injured near the White House.
WASHINGTON — An Afghan national stands accused of a bold assault that injured two West Virginia National Guard personnel mere blocks from the nation’s capital. This violent episode occurs amid heated political discussions surrounding troop deployments in Washington, D.C., and other cities across the country.
During a news conference on Thursday, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, identified the victims as Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Both remain hospitalized in critical condition following the Wednesday afternoon attack.
Pirro revealed that Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the alleged assailant, traveled across the United States to execute this “ambush-style” attack using a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. Lakanwal faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed, alongside firearm possession during a violent crime. Pirro noted that it remains uncertain what motivated the attack.
Potential charge escalations loom, with Pirro stating, “Our hopes are pinned on their recovery, but if they should not survive, we are prepared to pursue a murder in the first degree charge.”
This uncommon assault on National Guard members within U.S. borders, occurring just before Thanksgiving, unfolds against a backdrop of legal disputes and public discourse concerning the Trump administration’s military strategies to address perceived rampant crime.
The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington.
The suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Agents have served a series of search warrants, with Patel calling it a “coast-to-coast investigation.”
The shot guard members had been sworn in less than 24 hours before they were attacked, and Pirro said: “We have been in constant contact with their families and have provided them with every resource needed during this difficult time.”
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser interpreted the shooting as a direct assault on America itself, rather than specifically on Trump’s policies.
“Somebody drove across the country and came to Washington D.C. to attack America,” Bower said. “That person will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
The 29-year-old suspect, an Afghan national, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.
The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and his allies, congressional Republicans and some government watchdogs over gaps in the vetting process and the speed of admissions, even as advocates say it offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.
Lakamal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles (127 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.
Prior to his 2021 arrival in the United States, the suspect worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director, said in a statement. He did not specify what work Lakamal did, but said the relationship “ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation” of U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.
Kandahar in southern Afghanistan is in the Taliban heartland of the country. It saw fierce fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 following the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11. The CIA relied on Afghan staff for translation, administrative and front-line fighting with their own paramilitary officers in the war.
Wednesday night, in a video message released on social media, President Donald Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered under the Biden administration.
“If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” he said, adding that the shooting was “a crime against our entire nation.”
Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant D.C. police chief, said on Wednesday that investigators had no information on a motive. He said the assailant “came around the corner” and immediately started firing at the troops, citing video reviewed by investigators.
The shooting happened roughly two blocks northwest of the White House near a metro station. Hearing gunfire, other troops in the area ran over and held down the gunman after he was shot, Carroll said.
“It appears to be a lone gunman that raised a firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard,” Carroll said, adding that it was not clear whether one of the guard members or a law enforcement officer shot the suspect.
“At this point, we have no other suspects,” Carroll said at a news conference.
At least one of the guard members exchanged gunfire with the shooter, said another law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Social media video shared in the immediate aftermath showed first responders performing CPR on one of the troops and treating the other on a sidewalk covered in broken glass.
Associated Press journalists Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Safiyah Riddle, Matt Brown, Mike Balsamo, Eric Tucker, Jesse Bedayn, Josh Boak, Evan Vucci, Nathan Ellgren, John Raby, Hallie Golden, Michael R. Sisak and John Seewer contributed.
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