An Afghan nationwide named Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been recognized as the suspected shooter within the ambush assault that wounded two Nationwide Guard troops simply blocks away from the White Home on Wednesday, the Division of Homeland Safety stated.
The CIA stated Thursday that Lakanwal beforehand labored with the U.S. authorities, together with the CIA, as a member of a associate pressure in Kandahar that resulted in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The suspect was shot by one other Guard member and brought into custody, officers stated. He’s at the moment hospitalized.
U.S. Legal professional Jeanine Pirro stated Thursday that the suspect will likely be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill whereas armed, and he may also be charged with possession of a firearm throughout against the law of violence. The fees may nonetheless change pending the situation of the Guardsmen.
This is what we all know in regards to the suspect to this point. This story will likely be up to date as further info is confirmed.
Suspect entered U.S. 4 years in the past
Lakanwal, 29, entered america in 2021, a number of regulation enforcement sources informed CBS Information on Wednesday.
Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem stated on X that the suspect was paroled into the U.S. on Sept. 8, 2021, below a Biden-era program for Afghan nationals referred to as Operation Allies Welcome.
President Trump described him as “a foreigner who entered our nation from Afghanistan, a hellhole on Earth,” in a video message late Wednesday. He stated the suspect’s standing was prolonged “below laws signed by President Biden.”
A Division of Homeland Safety official informed CBS Information the suspect was paroled into the U.S. on humanitarian grounds again in 2021. That was the principle authorized mechanism the Biden administration used to welcome tens of hundreds of Afghan evacuees after the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
Lakanwal later utilized for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies in 2024 and his software was granted in 2025, the DHS official stated. However his request for a inexperienced card, which is tied to the asylum grant, is pending.
Lots of the Afghan nationals who had been admitted to the U.S. in 2021 had been issued particular immigrant visas provided to those that labored alongside the navy throughout its 20-year warfare, whereas others got a non permanent humanitarian standing often called parole.
Greater than 8,000 folks from Afghanistan had been additionally granted deportation aid below a separate program referred to as non permanent protected standing, which Biden prolonged in 2023 however Mr. Trump selected to finish earlier this 12 months.
Suspect had labored with U.S. forces and CIA in Afghanistan
A CIA spokesperson confirmed Thursday that the suspect labored with the U.S. authorities, together with the CIA, in the course of the warfare in Afghanistan.
CBS Information has additionally realized that the suspect led a group within the former Afghan nationwide armed forces that labored instantly with U.S. and British forces.
Based on a former Afghan commando who spoke with CBS Information on Thursday, Lakanwal led a unit of Afghan particular forces within the south of the nation and labored carefully with the worldwide troops.
The previous commando informed CBS Information that Lakanawal was left deeply troubled by the loss of life of a detailed good friend and fellow Afghan commander in 2024, whom he stated had unsuccessfully sought asylum within the U.S.
Suspect is not cooperating
The suspect was subdued on the scene of the capturing and brought into custody by Nationwide Guard members and regulation enforcement officers, Jeff Carroll, govt assistant chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Division, informed reporters earlier Wednesday.
Presently, he is not cooperating with authorities, regulation enforcement sources stated.
Police say suspect was “lone gunman” who “ambushed” Nationwide Guard
Carroll stated the suspect seemed to be “a lone gunman that raised the firearm and ambushed these members of the Nationwide Guard” as they patrolled close to a mass transit station in downtown D.C.
The suspect had 4 rounds in his handgun initially, a number of sources acquainted with the investigation informed CBS Information. The primary sufferer — a feminine Guard member — was struck instantly and collapsed the place she stood. She sustained no less than two gunshot wounds in the course of the ambush, the sources stated.
Then, the suspect took her weapon and used it to proceed capturing, placing the second Guard member, in line with a number of sources. A 3rd Guard member, who was not injured, finally returned hearth, ending the assault.
The 2 victims — Military Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Air Power Employees Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24 — stay in important situation after present process surgical procedure, U.S. Legal professional Jeanine Pirro stated Thursday.
The Guard members had been on “excessive visibility patrols,” Carroll stated, a part of a monthslong deployment of Nationwide Guard troops from D.C. and a number of other states ordered by President Trump.
Suspect drove from Washington state
Pirro stated Thursday morning that suspect drove to D.C. from Bellingham, in Washington state, with “the supposed goal of coming to our nation’s capital.” She stated the suspect lived together with his spouse and, officers imagine, 5 youngsters.
Patel stated a search warrant had been executed on the suspect’s final identified deal with in Washington state. Primarily based on what was discovered on the deal with, regulation enforcement was capable of finding folks related to him in San Diego.
“Throughout that course of, we seized quite a few digital gadgets to incorporate cellphones, laptops, iPads and different materials that’s being analyzed as we communicate,” Patel stated. “… Interviews had been carried out and are going to be proceed to be carried out, and we are going to go wherever within the nation or the world the place the proof leads us.”
The Division of Homeland Safety had earlier spelled his final title as Lakamal.
