Afghan National Identified as Suspect in D.C. National Guard Shooting; Entry Traced to Biden-Era Evacuation Program

The suspect in Wednesday's targeted shooting of two West Virginia National Guardsmen near the White House has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration's Operation Allies Welcome program.

Lakanwal, who served 10 years in the Afghan army including alongside U.S. Special Forces in Kandahar, arrived on September 8, 2021, via humanitarian parole as part of the effort to resettle vulnerable Afghans following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. His initial parole status expired in September 2023, leaving him without legal status until he filed for asylum in December 2024. That application, processed through standard paperwork channels, was granted on April 23, 2025, conferring asylee status. A relative confirmed to NBC News that Lakanwal had resettled in Washington state with family members after his arrival.

The shooting occurred at approximately 2:15 p.m. ET on November 26 near 17th and I Streets NW, during a high-visibility patrol by Joint Task Force-DC. Lakanwal emerged from around a corner, raised a semiautomatic handgun, and fired at the guardsmen, striking both in the head in what Metropolitan Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll described as an ambush. The victims, unidentified publicly but confirmed as early-30s members of the West Virginia contingent, returned fire along with nearby guardsmen, wounding Lakanwal. Approximately 15 rounds were exchanged before he was subdued and taken into custody. As of Thursday morning, both guardsmen remained in critical condition following surgery at separate hospitals, while Lakanwal, hospitalized under guard, had non-life-threatening injuries and was not cooperating with investigators.

No motive has been publicly established, though the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is probing the incident as a potential act of international terrorism, examining possible lone-actor radicalization without confirmed ties to groups. Authorities recovered the handgun at the scene and stated no additional suspects are sought. Lakanwal had no prior U.S. criminal record.

Lakanwal's presence in the U.S. stems from Operation Allies Welcome, launched August 29, 2021, by the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate entry for over 79,000 Afghan evacuees via humanitarian parole, bypassing standard visa processes like the Special Immigrant Visa program. All his initial vetting occurred during this expedited phase, which Department of Homeland Security Inspector General reports from 2022 and 2024 cited for deficiencies, including incomplete or inaccurate biometric and biographic data, fragmented interagency coordination, and admission of individuals with derogatory information—such as at least two who may have posed national security risks, including one Taliban-liberated prisoner. A 2023 congressional inquiry by Rep. James Comer highlighted chaos in the evacuation allowing inadequate screening.

Following the shooting, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced an indefinite halt to processing all immigration requests from Afghan nationals, effective immediately, pending review of security and vetting protocols. This decision aligns with an internal USCIS memo issued November 21, 2025, by Director Joseph Edlow, directing comprehensive review and re-interviews of approximately 233,000 refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025. The memo cited Biden-era prioritization of "expediency and quantity over detailed vetting," including data flaws and rushed screenings, as grounds for the action, with potential revocation of status for those failing reexamination. USCIS anticipates a priority list for re-interviews within 90 days.

President Trump, addressing the nation from Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday night, called the attack an "act of terror" and "heinous assault," describing Lakanwal as a "foreigner from Afghanistan—a hellhole on earth." He directed the Pentagon to deploy 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., bringing the total under Joint Task Force-DC to over 2,800, and vowed a full reexamination of all Afghan entrants from the Biden period, stating, "We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien who does not belong here." Vice President JD Vance labeled it fallout from "opening the floodgates to unvetted refugees," while CIA Director John Ratcliffe noted Lakanwal's prior collaboration with U.S. intelligence in Afghanistan, underscoring vetting failures.

The incident has intensified scrutiny of the 2021 resettlement, which admitted about 185,640 refugees overall from October 2021 to September 2024, with Afghans comprising a significant portion. Federal charges against Lakanwal are expected under statutes for assault on federal officers, with terrorism enhancements possible.