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Donald Trump has attacked Suspect arrested after shooting two National Guard soldiers Washington DC. In what the President described as a “horrific, ambush-style attack.”
West Virginia Guardsman Shot by a lone gunman just north of the White House Shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
But reports remain unclear about the motive of the suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national. More than 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to DC In Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.
Trump, who is in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, said in an address Wednesday night: “I am determined to make sure that the animal who committed this atrocity pays the harshest price possible.”
is here Everything we know about shooting As yet:
Who is the suspected shooter?
The suspect has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the suspect Came to America in 2021 under Operation Ally’s Welcome. Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, the Biden-era program aimed to resettle thousands of Afghans who aided the United States during the Afghanistan War.
Agency director John Ratcliffe revealed that Lacanwal had worked with the CIA while in Afghanistan fox news Wednesday night, “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly after the chaotic evacuation”.
“The Biden administration was justified in bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 because of his prior work with the U.S. government, including the CIA,” Ratcliffe said.
Lakanwal served for 10 years in the Afghan army with US special forces, a close relative said. nbc news Informed. Sources told the outlet that he was granted asylum earlier this year.
Authorities say the suspect is living in Washington state, more than 2,600 miles from D.C.
Two senior US law enforcement officials told nbc news The FBI will initially investigate the shooting as a possible terrorist act. It is said that Lakanwal is not cooperating in the investigation so far.
Many details about the suspect are still unknown because he is still being treated in hospital, said Jeffrey Carroll, acting assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. It is also not clear what type of weapon was used in the firing.
In a statement after the shooting, Trump described Afghanistan as a “hellhole on Earth.”
“He [the suspect] The infamous flights that everyone was talking about were scheduled by the Biden administration in September 2021. Nobody knew who was coming,” the President said.
Following the shooting, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency announced an immediate and indefinite halt to “processing of all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals” until security and screening protocols are reviewed.
What happened during the shooting?
Shots were fired Wednesday afternoon just north of the White House and near the Farragut West Metro station.
The two injured soldiers were part of a “high visibility patrol” around 2:15 p.m. ET near the corner of 17th and I streets, a few blocks from the White House.
The pair were patrolling the area when the suspected shooter came around the corner, raised his hand with a gun and fired at the troopers, Carroll said.
The suspect “ambushed” them, the acting assistant chief of staff said, adding that other National Guard soldiers subdued the attacker after a shootout.
“They were actually able to intervene and hold the suspect on the ground after he was shot until law enforcement arrived within moments,” he said.
The guardsman and the suspect were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Building manager Amelia Smith, who works at 17th Street NW and heard the shots, said nbc news He heard first four gunshots and then “many, many more”.
“I started seeing Secret Service members running, running, bicycling, and more and more sirens going off. I wasn’t sure if it was gunshots, but then I thought, OK, no one’s going to set off fireworks the day before Thanksgiving. And when I heard the sirens, I thought, this is something serious,” she said.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser described the incident as a “targeted shooting.”
What condition are the victims in?
The West Virginia troopers who were shot during the incident are Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24.
After the attack, both were battling for life and were taken to the hospital. By Thursday he had undergone surgery but his condition was still critical.
In comments made to service members in a Thanksgiving address, Donald Trump announced that Beckstrom had died of his injuries.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the Guardsmen we’re talking about, was a highly respected, young, wonderful individual who began service in June 2023, outstanding in every way. She passed away recently,” Trump said.
The President said, “She is no longer with us. She is looking at us now.” “She was brutally attacked, she is now dead.”
Trump said Wolf was still “fighting for his life,” adding, “He’s in very bad shape, he’s fighting for his life and hopefully we’ll get better news on him.”
This comes after Beckstrom’s father saidthe new York Times Their daughter had suffered “a life-threatening wound” and they did not expect her to recover.
There were conflicting reports about the conditions of the victims immediately after the shooting.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey made a mistake in the beginning announced before later clarifying that the soldiers were dead.
What have officials said about the shooting?
“Today on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, two members of the National Guard serving in Washington, DC, were shot at close range in a horrific ambush-style attack just steps from the White House,” Trump told Americans in an impromptu address.
The President said, “This heinous attack was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire country. It was a crime against humanity.”
During his address, Trump called for re-vetting of all Afghan refugees entering the US under the Biden administration. US Citizenship and Immigration Services separately Said X that the processing of all immigration requests from Afghan nationals “has been put on hold indefinitely pending further review of security and screening protocols.”
Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, an Afghan advocacy group. Said In a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic attack in Washington, DC,” and urged people, including elected officials, “not to vilify the Afghan community for the deranged choice made by the suspect”.
Secretary of Defense pete hegseth Said that Trump, in response, has asked him to add 500 more soldiers to the nation’s capital.
“This will only strengthen our resolve to make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful,” Hegseth told reporters.
FBI Director Kash Patelsaid in an x Post The agency is “engaging and assisting” in the investigation of the shooting.
Alex Woodward contributed to this reporting.