Shockwaves rippled through Washington, D.C., as a shooting near the White House left two National Guard troops clinging to life, with the suspect revealed to have once worked with the CIA in Afghanistan.
This tragic incident, unfolding on Wednesday, saw Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, allegedly open fire on the troops, leading to his arrest and a firestorm of political debate over immigration vetting under past and present administrations, as the Daily Mail reports.
The chaos erupted near the iconic White House, where Lakanwal reportedly targeted two National Guard members, shooting one at close range before turning his weapon on another seeking cover behind a bus stop shelter.
Both soldiers, now in critical condition, were rushed to a local hospital, with graphic images showing one bleeding on the pavement while a Secret Service agent rendered aid.
A helicopter landed on the National Mall to airlift one of the wounded, while an unidentified trooper was seen being loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher.
Law enforcement, including the FBI, ATF, and Secret Service, swarmed the scene, recovering a handgun believed to be the weapon used in this brazen assault.
Lakanwal, taken into custody after being shot himself and now under hospital treatment, was later revealed by the CIA director to have worked with the agency alongside U.S. Special Forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan, before the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.
Having entered the U.S. in September 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, a program to resettle Afghans who aided American forces. Lakanwal was settled in Bellingham, Washington, on a temporary visa before gaining asylum in April 2024.
A close relative noted Lakanwal’s decade-long service in the Afghan Army, his injuries sustained while supporting U.S. troops, and expressed disbelief at the allegations, highlighting his family life with a wife and five sons.
President Trump, who was at Mar-a-Lago for the Thanksgiving holiday during the incident, wasted no time in condemning the attack, having already deployed 2,300 National Guard troops to D.C. since August to curb crime, with an additional 500 ordered after this shooting.
Trump’s statement minced no words, declaring, “This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation,” as he pointed fingers at the Biden administration’s handling of Afghan resettlement.
Such fiery rhetoric underscores a broader frustration with policies that, in the view of many conservatives, prioritized speed over security during the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal, which cost 13 American lives and saw the Taliban reclaim power.
In the wake of this violence, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services halted all immigration processing for Afghan nationals, pending a thorough review of vetting protocols. It's a move signaling the depth of concern over current safeguards.
FBI Director Kash Patel labeled the shooting a “heinous act,” affirming that the assault on federal officers would be prosecuted at the highest level with full interagency cooperation.
While D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Democratic Party leaders like Chuck Schumer expressed heartbreak and prayers for the victims, the incident has undeniably fueled a conservative push to reevaluate every aspect of immigration policy tied to the Afghanistan evacuation, leaving a nation on edge as two brave troops fight for their lives.
