Rahmanullah Lakanwal, Afghan national id as National Guard DC shooting suspect who shot and critically wounded 2 patrolling guards. No known motive.
The gunman who shot two shot two National Guard troops near the White House in Washington D.C, Wednesday afternoon has been identified as a 29-year-old Afghan national who arrived in the US in 2021 as part of the US’s ‘resettling’ initiative while pulling out of the war torn country.
Two National Guard members were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon, while patrolling in what officials described as a ‘targeted’ attack.
2nd Wounded DC National Guard member had worked that day so others could attend Thanksgiving
Afghan National immigrated to US under Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome during US pullout in 2021
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national s alleged to have fired gunshots near Farragut West Metro Station in Northwest DC around 2:15 p.m., striking a female guard in the chest before shooting her in the head, according to DC officials.
Lakanwal then allegedly fired at and struck a second guard — until a third guard stationed nearby took him down, NBC News reported.
The two armed soldiers were taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, authorities said. The suspect, who was reportedly shot four times, and was now in critical condition is believed to have acted alone.
Police have since recovered a handgun from the scene which they believe was used in the attack,
West Virginia National Guard shot at Washington D.C identified
UPDATE: The shooter has been identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, according to Fox News Digital.
He entered the U.S. legally in 2021 under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome during the Afghanistan withdrawal — via humanitarian parole.
His permission to… pic.twitter.com/L0xba9t6OC
— Tony Lane 🇺🇸 (@TonyLaneNV) November 27, 2025
National Guards brought to Washington D.C to reign in crime
At the time of the shooting, Lakanwal gunned down the National Guards while they were patrolling in the area. To date officials have yet to publicly identify the two individuals shot except to say that were from the West Virginia National Guard.
While no motive was immediately known, the FBI is initially treating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism.
The shooting, described as an ‘ambush,’ took place near Farragut Square in Northwest DC, a bustling area filled with retail stores and restaurants.
Lakanwal according to the nypost arrived in the US in 2021 as part of the US’s ‘resettling’ initiative while US forced were pulling out of the war torn country. The shooter according to officials eventually ‘relocated’ to Bellingham, Washington.
Lakanal immigrated to the U.S under Joe Biden‘s Operation Allies Welcome, which sought to resettle vulnerable Afghans, including those who assisted the US during the war.
National Guard members have been based in Washington since August following President Donald Trump’s highly contested directive to curb crime in the nation’s capital.
I believe I found the Facebook account of “Rahmanullah Lakanwal”.
Account was made two years after he immigrated to the United States under “Operation Allies Welcome” after the Afghanistan Withdrawal in 2021. pic.twitter.com/W2CbWS81xd
— *67 🇺🇸 No More Wars ✊✊✊ (@prankcaller2000) November 27, 2025
Operation Allies Welcome to the US
Trump who was not in D.C at the time has since ordered 500 additional National Guards troops be sent to Washington, DC.
‘We will never back down. We will secure our capital. We will secure our cities,’ Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters Wednesday. ‘President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the Secretary of the Army to the National Guard to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen to Washington DC.
‘This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington DC safe and beautiful.
‘The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic.’
There were approximately 2,100 National Guard troops assigned to DC, including about 900 from the DC National Guard and roughly 1,200 from other states the nypost reported.
Roughly 90,000 Afghans were allowed entry into the US and became eligible for Special immigrant Visas under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Refuge (OAR) and Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) programs, which provided the foreign nationals immigration processing and resettlement support.
In June, US officials identified 55 Afghan evacuees on the terrorist watchlist who had immigrated from the Middle Eastern country during the botched operation, according to a Justice Department inspector general report.
The report found the Biden Administration failed to properly vet US-bound refugees as the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan.
After investigations, the FBI eventually removed 46 evacuees from the watchlist, determining that they posed no threat to the homeland. However, nine remained in the terror database as of July 2024 and eight were in the US.
