Two US National Guard soldiers were critically wounded on Wednesday in a bold daytime shooting just a few blocks from the White House. US President Donald Trump condemned the attack as “an act of terror,” calling it “an act of evil, an act of hatred,” and “a crime against our entire nation.”
Trump said the man taken into custody after the shooting was “a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan,” arriving in the US in 2021 during the evacuation flights that followed the Taliban takeover. He called for a complete review of all Afghan nationals who entered the US under the programme, saying those who “cannot love our country” should not remain. Later, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it had halted all immigration processing related to Afghan nationals, saying the safety of the American people remained its top priority.
The shooting occurred around 2:15 pm when the two soldiers — a man and a woman — were on a high-visibility patrol. According to DC Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeffrey Carroll, the attacker rounded a corner, raised a firearm, and “ambushed these members of the National Guard” without warning. Both soldiers were struck multiple times and rushed to local trauma centres, where they remain in critical condition. The suspect was also wounded, though investigators are still determining how he was injured. Authorities confirmed there were no additional suspects and no ongoing threat.
The attack prompted an immediate security lockdown at the White House as multiple federal and city law-enforcement agencies swarmed the area. Trump was in Florida at the time but was promptly briefed on the situation.
By Wednesday evening, major US news outlets reported that the FBI had identified the man in custody. Fingerprints taken at the hospital matched a man from Washington state who immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan in August 2021. The New York Times, citing people familiar with the investigation, identified him as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, though officials had not yet released the name publicly.
Senior counterterrorism officials told ABC News that the FBI was examining the incident as a possible act of international terrorism and was looking into whether the attack may have been inspired by a foreign militant group. However, investigators stressed that no motive had been established.
Trump was the first to announce the incident publicly, writing on social media that “the animal that shot the two National Guardsmen” was severely wounded and would “pay a very steep price.” He praised the National Guard and federal agencies as “truly great people.”
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump had ordered an immediate deployment of 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington, describing the attack as happening “just steps away from the White House.” A brief security lockdown was imposed, though Trump was not in the capital at the time. Confusion briefly arose when West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey issued — then retracted — a statement saying the soldiers had died. His office later blamed “early and conflicting reports.”
The incident has caused unease among Muslim communities in the United States, particularly after early reports suggested the shooter was an Afghan national. A Muslim political commentator told Dawn that if the reports proved accurate, it could trigger backlash against Muslim Americans. Civil-rights groups urged caution, warning against speculation until the investigation confirmed the suspect’s identity and motive. Law-enforcement officials also stressed that the direction of the investigation could shift as more information emerges.
The wounded soldiers were part of a National Guard deployment from several Republican-led states, including West Virginia. The mission, expanded by Trump in August, aims to support immigration enforcement and combat street crime in Washington. The two soldiers shot on Wednesday were part of that deployment.
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