National Guard member dies after potential 'terrorist' shooting in D.C.
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The suspect, an Afghan national, was also shot during the attack on Wednesday.
What we know
- One National Guard member was killed and another is in critical condition after a "targeted" shooting near the White House in Washington, D.C., yesterday that's being investigated as a terrorist attack.
- Sarah Beckstrom, 20, whose death the president announced tonight, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, are from the West Virginia National Guard.
- The suspect, named as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, faces three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
- The CIA said today that the Afghan national worked with U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan.
- President Donald Trump called the attack "an act off terror" in an address last night and said "every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden" must be re-examined.
- FBI agents will spend Thanksgiving investigating the shooting as a possible act of terrorism, two senior U.S. law enforcement officials said.
Authorities vow 'rigorous reexamination' of green card holders
The federal government on Thursday vowed to take a "rigorous reexamination" of all green card holders following the attack on two National Guard members, allegedly by an Afghan national.
Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said he was acting at the direction of President Donald Trump.
"I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern," Edlow said in a statement. "The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies. American safety is non negotiable."
Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, had previously worked “with the USG (U.S. government), including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan," according to a CIA spokesperson.
Victims and suspected attacker in Washington shooting pictured at news conference
Nathan Howard / Reuters
Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard of the National Guard, center, during a press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel, right, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, left. Andrew Leyden / Getty Images
Authorities showed pictures of the victims in the Washington shooting — National Guard members Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom — at a news conference this morning, as well as an image of the alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
D.C. mayor says 'our hearts are heavy' after shooting
"Our hearts are heavy in DC and across the nation today," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a post on X this. "This Thanksgiving, we encourage you to take care of each other — be kind, be gracious, be a good neighbor."
Suspect lived in Washington state, officials reviewing 'immigration history'
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., yesterday, lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children, it was revealed this morning.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said the 29-year-old Afghan national entered the U.S. under President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome.”
“We’re working very closely with our federal partners … to review his immigration history and the vetting process itself,” Pirro said.
National Guard members were 'ambushed in a brazen, targeted attack,' U.S. attorney says
The two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C., yesterday were "ambushed in a brazen, targeted attack" by a man who drove across the country from Washington state with the purpose of carrying out the attack, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference this morning.
Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe were attacked at around 2:15 p.m. near 17th Street and I Street in the northwest section of the city, Pirro said.
The gunman, armed with a revolver, opened fire “without provocation,” she said.
“One guardsman is struck, goes down, and then the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman again,” Pirro said. “Another guardsman is struck several times.”
Fellow guard members responded and subdued the shooter. The suspect remains hospitalized after being shot and is under heavy guard.
Previous Afghan allies have faced terrorism questions
This is not the first time an Afghan national who came to the United States after supporting the United States' mission in Afghanistan has faced questions about terrorism.
Last year, NBC News broke the story that Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi was arrested by the FBI after being directed by ISIS-K (the Afghanistan based group aligned with ISIS) to conduct an attack on Election Day in 2024.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force was able to detect the plot and make an arrest. Tawhedi worked for the CIA as a security guard as NBC News also first reported.
The concern law enforcement officials have this morning is that even if some of these individuals received a deep vetting prior to arriving in the U.S., over time a very small group could become disillusioned with American culture and be susceptible to radicalization, two senior U.S. law enforcement officials say.
Victims in D.C. shooting identified as Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe
The two National Guard members injured in yesterday's attack were identified this morning as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told a news conference in Washington that the suspect was facing three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
"We intend to continue monitoring what the charges will be depending upon the well being of the guardsmen. We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake: If they do not, that will certainly be the charge, murder in the first degree," she said.
Suspect faces charges of assault with intent to kill and possession of a firearm
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has confirmed that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, faces three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
She said at a news conference in Washington this morning that the suspect drove across the country from Washington state "with the intended target of coming to our nation's capital."
She added that he faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted.
Suspect worked with CIA during war in Afghanistan, agency says
The Afghan national accused of opening fire on two National Guard members near the White House worked with a CIA-backed military unit during the war in Afghanistan, the Central Intelligence Agency said today.
“In the wake of the disastrous Biden Withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden Administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation,” Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement.
“This individual — and so many others — should have never been allowed to come here. Our citizens and servicemembers deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden Administration’s catastrophic failures. God bless our brave troops,” Ratcliffe said.
A CIA spokesperson said that the suspect “previously worked with the USG (U.S. government), including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
Suspect identified in National Guard attack near White House
Two West Virginia National Guard members remain in critical condition after an ambush-style attack on Wednesday just blocks from the White House. NBC News has learned the suspect is 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, according to four senior law enforcement officials who say his last known address was in Washington state.
What we know about the Washington, D.C., shooting of two National Guard members
Two National Guard members were shot in broad daylight in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon, just one day before Thanksgiving, in what officials described as a “targeted” attack.
The guard members are in critical condition, authorities said. They were shot in the head, according to a U.S. official and a senior official directly briefed on the investigation.
The suspect was also shot and taken to a hospital. He has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, four senior law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation said.
Explaining why National Guard troops are in Washington
About 2,100 National Guard troops were in the nation's capital when two of them were shot yesterday — but a legal challenge over their presence is ongoing and the deployment is mired in controversy.
The National Guard was sent into Washington in August as part of what President Donald Trump calls an ongoing campaign to reduce levels of violent crime in big cities. The two soldiers shot yesterday were part of West Virginia's National Guard.
This involved the guard taking over the running of the local police department, and the deployment was extended to February.
The move followed similar deployments in other cities — mostly racially diverse, Democratic-voting urban centers — starting with Los Angeles in June and moving to Memphis, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon.
However, a federal judge last week ruled that the D.C. military takeover was illegal and intruded on local law enforcement officials’ authority. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb put the order on hold to allow an appeal.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser welcomed the ruling and said she wanted the troops out of the city.
The federal government has until Dec. 11 to appeal the ruling.
Afghan resettlement nonprofit says 'isolated and violent act' shouldn't be used to attack all Afghans
A U.S.-based nonprofit that helps resettle Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the long American military operation in Afghanistan has warned it shouldn't be used to undermine all Afghans.
AfghanEvac, which works with 250 different groups, said in a statement on X: "We reject and condemn anyone who uses, or seeks to use, violence, and we stand with every American who is horrified and saddened by this crime."
The group then added: "This individual's isolated and and violent act shouldn't be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community."
The suspect, who was also shot, has been identified by four senior law enforcement sources as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national. A family member has told NBC News that he served alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Trump calls shooting an 'act of terror'
President Donald Trump addressed the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., which officials described as a targeted attack. Trump stated that the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a “foreigner” who entered the United States from Afghanistan.
U.S. must ‘re-examine’ everyone who came from Afghanistan, Trump says
Law enforcement officials visit the crime scene of a shooting in downtown Washington, D.C. yesterday. Drew Angerer / AFP - Getty Images
President Donald Trump called for a “re-examination” of all Afghan nationals who came to the U.S. during the Biden administration, hours after an Afghan man was named as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X that the suspect came to the U.S. in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program designed to help Afghans who assisted U.S. forces and were facing a Taliban takeover.
“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said in an address Wednesday night in which he called the shooting an “act of terror.”
