Suspect in shooting of guard members identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal
The suspected gunman in the shooting of two national guard members on Wednesday near the White House has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States in September 2021 and has been living in Washington state, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press and other outlets.
Key events
Multiple news outlets are reporting that the suspect in the shooting attack on two uniformed national guard troops in Washington DC on Wednesday, who has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program to support Afghans put at risk by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan that year.
An archived web page of the Department of Homeland Security site described the aim of the program as providing support for “vulnerable Afghans, including those who worked alongside us in Afghanistan for the past two decades, as they safely resettle in the United States.”
An FAQ on the site includes this description of how Afghan nationals arriving in the US under the program were vetted to ensure that they did not pose security risks:
The screening and vetting process involves biometric and biographic screenings conducted by intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism professionals from the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), and additional intelligence community partners prior to their arrival in the United States. If someone fails these checks while they are still overseas, they will not be permitted to board a flight to the United States.
Video shows emergency response after shooting of national guard troops near White House
Video recorded by a witness in the aftermath of the shooting near the White House on Wednesday showed the gunshot victims being treated on a sidewalk outside the Farragut West metro station.
Some of that witness video was obtained by the Guardian and is included in this report, along with preliminary statements on the investigation from Jeffery Carroll, assistant chief of Washington DC’s Metropolitan police department, and Muriel Bowser, the city’s mayor.
Suspect in shooting of guard members identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal
The suspected gunman in the shooting of two national guard members on Wednesday near the White House has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States in September 2021 and has been living in Washington state, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press and other outlets.
After golf, Trump comments on new polling and election in Honduras
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting of two national guard troops who were in Washington DC because Donald Trump wanted them there, the president posted once about the shooting on his social media platform and then moved on to other topics.
The attack took place while Trump was at his golf club in West Palm Beach and, according to the White House, the president was briefed on the shooting before he returned to his club, Mar-a-Lago.
Shortly after he arrived back at Mar-a-Lago, Trump posted about the shooting and referred to the attacker as an “animal”.
In the subsequent four hours, the president has made no further comment on the attack, or the critically wounded troops, but he did return to social media to endorse a Honduran presidential candidate and then to share the news that a new poll, from a pollster who has worked for Trump since 2011, found that he has “strong approval at 50%”.
The post about his approval rating, from a survey conducted by his pollster, John McLaughlin, which is nearly nine points higher than Trump’s average in national polls, was illustrated by a giant photo of Trump’s smiling face.
Law enforcement officials tell NBC News suspected gunman who shot uniformed troops is an Afghan national
NBC News reports that unnamed law enforcement officials tell the outlet that the suspected gunman, who is alleged to have shot two uniformed members of the national guard near the White House on Wednesday, “has been initially identified as an Afghan national.”
The FBI is investigating the shooting of the two guard members, who were both shot in the head, as a possible act of terrorism, officials briefed on the investigation told NBC.
JD Vance asked troops to pray for wounded guard members, then joked about turkey
In remarks earlier on Wednesday at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, JD Vance, the vice-president, asked troops to pray for the two wounded members of the West Virginia national guard who were shot on Wednesday in Washington DC.
Later in his prepared remarks, Vance joked about the fact that Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
“Turkey, think about turkey,” Vance said. “Who really likes, be honest with yourself, who really likes turkey?”
After a small number of soldiers raised their hands and cheered, Vance told them: “You’re all full of shit. Everybody who raised your hands.”
As the audience laughed, the current frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for president in 2028 added: “Here’s how I know that every single one of you who raised your hand is lying to me: how many times do you roast an 18-pound turkey, just randomly? Just, you know, a nice summer afternoon, we’re going to go get an 18-pound turkey.”
“Nobody does it because turkey doesn’t actually taste that good,” Vance continued. “But on Thanksgiving… the most American holiday, we’re gonna cook a turkey, by God, because that’s what Americans do! We cook this gigantic American bird, and we do all kinds of crazy things to make it taste good.”
FBI director sows confusion at news conference on shooting of national guard troops
Kash Patel, the FBI director, sowed confusion at a news conference when he seemed to stumble over his words while pledging to devote all necessary federal resources to the investigation of the shooting on Wednesday.
When it was his turn to speak, what Patel actually said was: “We will shortchange the American public with no resources to make sure we find and safeguard our nation’s capital, right here in Washington DC, and bring anyone responsible for this heinous act of violence to justice.”
Shortly after Patel spoke, Jeffery Carroll, assistant chief of Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department, said that “at this time, there is no indication that there was any other suspect. The one suspect that was involved in this incident, they were shot during the interaction and transported to the hospital for treatment.”
Patel was then asked by a reporter to clarify why he had pledged to bring “anyone responsible” for the shooting to justice. Patel let Carroll answer the question. The police chief clarified that there was no active search for any other suspects, since video of the shooting reviewed by the police suggested that it appeared to have been the work of “a lone gunman”.
Police say video suggests ‘lone gunman’ shot two national guard members in Washington DC
A review of video from the scene of the shooting of two national guard members in Washington DC on Wednesday appears to show that it was the work of “a lone gunman” who “ambushed” the troops, Jeffery Carroll, assistant chief of Washington DC’s Metropolitan police department, told reporters at a news conference.
No motive for the attack was yet apparent, Carroll said.
Injured national guard members are being treated for gunshot wounds, Washington police chief says
Two national guard members who were shot on Wednesday near the White House are being treated for gunshot wounds at a local hospital, Jeffery Carroll, assistant chief of Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news conference.
At approximately 2:15 pm, Carroll said, members of the national guard were “on high visibility patrols in the area of 17th and I Street NW when a suspect came around the corner” and opened fire.
The suspect was detained by other guard members and is also being treated at a local hospital, the chief said. Carroll added that the suspect was also shot.
Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington DC, confirmed that the guardsmen are in critical condition. Asked by a reporter if the shooting validated the need for additional guard troops on DC’s streets, Bowser called the attack “a targeted shooting”.
Hegseth says he is deploying 500 additional national guard troops to Washington DC at Trump’s request, despite court order
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, just told reporters in the Dominican Republic that he has ordered the deployment of an additional 500 national guard troops to patrol the streets of Washington DC, at Donald Trump’s request, following the shooting of two guard troops on Wednesday near the White House.
As we noted earlier, that order comes after a federal court judge ruled last week that all of the guard troops should be withdrawn from Washington DC, since the deployment is probably illegal.
Although there is no public information about the motivation of the person who shot the two guard members, Hegseth insisted that the attacker was “targeting national guardsmen”.
As we wait for more definitive information on the condition of the two members of West Virginia’s national guard who were shot on Wednesday near the White House, it is worth noting that a federal judge ruled last week that the deployment of guard troops to Washington DC is probably illegal and should be halted.
US district judge Jia Cobb, paused her ruling until 11 December to allow the Trump administration to appeal.
Cobb’s opinion cited the fact that over 1,000 of the national guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington DC are from states outside the capital district.
The DC attorney general, Brian Schwalb, an elected Democrat, sued on 4 September after Trump announced the deployment on 11 August.
The lawsuit accused Trump of unlawfully usurping control of the city’s law enforcement and violating a law prohibiting troops from performing domestic police work.
West Virginia governor now cites ‘conflicting reports’ about condition of two guard members shot near White House
West Virginia’s governor, Patrick Morrisey, appears to have retracted his earlier statement that two members of his state’s national guard died on Wednesday, after being shot in Washington DC.
“We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information,” Morrisey wrote on social media minutes ago. “Our prayers are with these brave service members, their families, and the entire Guard community.”
JD Vance addresses DC shooting at army base in Kentucky
In his remarks at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, vice-president JD Vance addressed the shooting of two national members of the West Virginia national guard.
“We’re still learning everything. We still don’t know the motive. There’s a lot that we haven’t yet figured out, but what we do know is that a couple of national guardsmen were injured in the line of duty,” Vance said. “I think it’s a somber reminder that soldiers, whether they’re active duty, reserve or national guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America.”
A reminder that Morrisey sent more than 300 members of West Virginia’s national guard to Washington DC back in August, to assist with Donald Trump’s “public safety emergency”. This included deploying hundreds of national guard soldiers to the nation’s capital, and taking control of the DC police department for a month.
West Virginia’s governor, Patrick Morrisey, announced in a widely quoted social media post that two members of the state’s national guard had died from their injuries following a shooting in downtown DC. However, about 20 minutes later, Morrisey said in a subsequent update that his office was “receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members”.
This post was updated after it was initially published to clarify that West Virginia’s governor subsequently reported uncertainty about the condition of two critically wounded national guard troops shot on Wednesday.
FBI assisting with investigation into national guard shooting, says director Patel
The FBI director, Kash Patel, said that the bureau was “engaged and assisting with the investigation” after two members of the national guard were shot in downtown DC today.
“Please pray for them and we will update with more information as we are able,” Patel added.
Trump says ‘animal’ who shot national guard members ‘will pay a very steep price’
The president said today that the “animal” who shot two members of the national guard “will pay a very steep price”. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that both soldiers were “critically wounded” and also noted that the suspect was also “severely wounded”.
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