What we know about the suspect in DC National Guard shooting
Authorities are holding an Afghan national in connection with the ambush shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House in Washington, DC, an assault that is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.
The Nov. 26 attack left both the National Guard members in critical condition, according to FBI Director Kash Patel .
The suspect was shot moments after the attack and is described as a "lone gunman" by Jeffery Carroll, executive assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the attack a "targeted shooting."
The identity of the suspect has not been made public by law enforcement officials.
President Donald Trump said in a speech from Palm Beach, Florida that the that the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect entered into the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021 but did not identify the suspect.
Reuters reported that investigators identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national from Washington State, citing an anonymous Justice Department official.
Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 on a special visa program for Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the Afghanistan war and were vulnerable to reprisals from the ruling Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal, the official told Reuters. But Lakanwal overstayed his visa and is in the country illegally, the official said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X that the suspect came into the country under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021 but did not name the suspect, saying that "should be starved of the glory he so desperately wants."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the investigation, said in an email that it does not have "anything further to add" when asked to confirm the suspect's identity by USA TODAY.
The attack occurred outside a subway station in the heart of the nation's capital and prompted the White House and other government buildings to lock down after the shooting . President Donald Trump , who was at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida at the time of the shooting, said the suspect was an "animal" and would pay "a steep price" in a social media post.
Reuters reported that the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism, according to the anonymous official. Trump called the assault "an act of terror" in his speech.
Here's what we know about the Washington, DC, shooting suspect, so far.
Live updates: Two National Guard members 'critical' after shooting in DC
What we know about DC shooting suspect
The suspect was subdued by other Guard members in the area, according to Carroll
“They heard the gunfire, they actually were able to intervene and to kind of hold down the suspect after he had been shot on the ground until law enforcement got there within moments,” Carroll said.
He noted that the suspect was shot during the interaction and transported to a local hospital for treatment.
“At this point, we have no other suspects,” Caroll said.
Patel said at a news conference that the FBI will work with the D.C. police, Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies on the investigation. “We have assembled the full force of both the federal and state and local law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Trump says U.S. must re-examine ‘aliens’ from Afghanistan
Trump called Afghanistan “a hell-hole on Earth” and said that the suspect was “flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021.” He also took swipes at Biden, calling him "a disastrous president, the worst in the history of our country."
He also claimed that the Biden administration let in “ 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners ” and said that the U.S. must “re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden.” Trump added that his administration must take "all necessary measures" to remove immigrants from "any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country."
"If they can't love our country we don't want them," Trump said.
This is a developing story
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What we know so far about the suspect in DC National Guard shooting
