DM Monitoring
WASHINGTON: An Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been identified as the suspected shooter in the ‘targeted’ attack that critically injured two National Guard soldiers near the White House on Wednesday, the US Department of Homeland Security said.
The suspect was shot by another Guard member and taken into custody, according to media reports, quoting officials. He is currently hospitalized.
Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States in 2021, multiple law enforcement said.
“This heinous assault was an act of evil and act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity,” President Donald Trump said in a video message from the state of Florida, where he is spending his Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on X that the suspect was paroled into the U.S. on Sept. 8, 2021, under a Biden-era programme for Afghan nationals called ‘Operation Allies Welcome’.
President Trump described him as “a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on Earth,” in a video message late Wednesday. He said the suspect’s status was extended “under legislation signed by President (Joe) Biden.”
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Trump had requested 500 more troops to be sent to Washington, DC.
Tens of thousands of Afghans entered the US under special immigration protections following the chaotic US withdrawal from that country in 2021 under former President Biden.
“We must now re-examine every alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” said Trump in his address.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it had halted processing of all Afghan immigration requests pending a review of vetting protocols.
