Federal investigators are examining what drove an Afghan immigrant to open fire on two National Guard soldiers near the White House in what officials described as an ambush-style attack on the night before Thanksgiving. Reuters points out that the soldiers who remain in critical condition, were deployed as part of a law-enforcement mission ordered by the US President Donald Trump and challenged by local officials.
The gunman, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was wounded and arrested after an exchange of gunfire, Reuters reported.
Trump, speaking from Florida in a prerecorded message, condemned the shooting as an act of terror and said his administration would re-examine all Afghans who entered the United States during Joe Biden’s presidency.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services later said it had paused all Afghan immigration processing while security and vetting reviews are underway, according to Reuters. DHS officials said Lakanwal arrived in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era resettlement program for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces.
Background on suspect
NBC News reported, citing a relative, that Lakanwal served a decade in the Afghan army alongside U.S. Special Forces and had been working for Amazon before the shooting. A Trump administration official said he applied for asylum in late 2024 and was approved earlier this year. The 29-year-old, who lived in Washington state, had no known criminal record.
The attack unfolded outside a busy subway station a few blocks from the White House, prompting a brief lockdown of the presidential mansion. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump requested 500 additional National Guard troops for the capital, on top of the more than 2,000 already deployed.
Vice President JD Vance said the shooting reinforced the administration’s immigration stance. Critics of the administration argue its approach has relied on unlawfully harsh enforcement and swept up immigrants indiscriminately, including some with no criminal history and others legally in the United States.
Political and legal fallout
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has frequently clashed with Trump over the Guard deployment, called the attack a “targeted shooting.” Police said the two West Virginia Guardsmen were on a high-visibility patrol when the suspect approached and opened fire before being subdued.
The shooting came days after a federal judge ruled that Guard troops cannot perform law-enforcement duties in the district without the mayor’s approval, though the order was paused pending appeal. Trump has also deployed Guard units to several Democratic-led cities to address what he describes as lawlessness tied to illegal immigration. Local leaders accuse him of using militarized force for political ends.