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President Donald Trump called the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard Members deployed to Washington, D.C. an “act of terror” and vowed the person responsible “will pay a very steep price.”
The Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect of the Wednesday shooting that left victims Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, in critical condition as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who traveled to the U.S. in 2021 under “Operation Allies Welcome.” The Biden Administration program oversaw the evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country. Many of the allies were viewed as vulnerable and at-risk of facing retribution from the Taliban. According to CIA director John Ratcliffe, the suspect in the D.C. shooting reportedly worked for various U.S. government agencies in Afghanistan, including a CIA-backed unit in Kandahar, a stronghold of the Taliban.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Lakanwal “was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States,” repeating a long-cited criticism of many Republicans, who argue the withdrawal—and subsequent evacuation and resettling of the Afghan nationals—in 2021 was rushed.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said during a Thursday news conference that the suspect drove across the country from Washington State to launch the “ambush-style” assault, echoing D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s labeling of the violence as a “targeted shooting.” A motive for the incident, which took place near the White House, has yet to be established, with Pirro noting that “it’s too soon to say.” The suspect is in police custody facing charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Those charges could be upgraded should circumstances develop, Pirro said. Meanwhile, FBI director Kash Patel said the bureau is regarding the case…
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