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Two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded on Wednesday in what authorities described as a targeted ambush near the White House, and the suspect — a 29-year-old Afghan national — was taken into custody after being shot during the attack.
Investigators identified the gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan evacuee resettled in the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, according to two senior Trump administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. One official said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Lakanwal arrived through Washington Dulles International Airport on Sept. 8, 2021. He applied for asylum in December 2024 and was granted protection in April — three months after President Donald Trump took office — the second official said. He has no prior criminal history.
Trump, speaking from his resort in Florida in a prerecorded video released late Wednesday, called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” and said his administration would “re-examine” all Afghans admitted to the U.S. during President Joe Biden’s tenure.
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Ambush near the White House
The two soldiers, members of the West Virginia National Guard, were conducting a “high-visibility patrol” shortly after 2:15 p.m. ET (8.15 pm WAT) near the intersection of 17th and I streets, just blocks from the White House, when the gunman rounded a corner and “ambushed” them, Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said.
An exchange of gunfire followed before other Guard members subdued the suspect, Carroll said. FBI Director Kash Patel said the two wounded troops were in critical condition at separate Washington hospitals. Authorities said the attacker appeared to have acted alone.
“This is a targeted attack,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a briefing.
White House locked down; more troops ordered to DC
The shooting occurred near Farragut Square, a busy lunchtime hub flanked by restaurants and two metro stations and decorated with holiday wreaths and lights. The White House — roughly a mile from the scene — was placed on lockdown.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also said Trump had ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington, adding to the roughly 2,200 already deployed as part of the administration’s sweeping immigration and crime crackdown in Democratic-led cities.
Vice President JD Vance, posting from Kentucky, said the attack underscored the administration’s immigration stance. “We must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country,” he wrote on X.
Critics say Trump’s policies have relied on unlawful directives and broad sweeps that have ensnared immigrants with no criminal background, including some legally present in the U.S.
