WASHINGTON (AP) — The brazen daytime shooting of two National Guard members in the nation’s capital by a man authorities identified as an Afghan national has raised multiple questions.
WATCH: Officials ID 2 National Guard members shot in D.C. shooting, say suspect is Afghan national
Officials have released the names of the suspect, who is in custody, and the Guard members who were shot, but the motive for the attack is not yet clear.
Here’s what we know so far, and what we don’t know:
Condition of the National Guard members
The Guard members, who have been identified as Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were hospitalized in critical condition after Wednesday’s shooting.
They belong to the West Virginia National Guard, which deployed hundreds of troops to the nation’s capital as part of President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting mission that involved taking over the local police department.
There were nearly 2,200 Guard members in D.C. for the mission.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey initially posted on social media that two of his state’s Guard members were killed. He later walked that back, saying his office was “receiving conflicting reports” about their condition. Morrisey has not elaborated.
How the attack unfolded
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, drove across the country to launch an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver.
Video reviewed by investigators showed the assailant “came around the corner” and immediately started firing at the troops, according to Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant D.C. police chief.
At least one Guard member exchanged gunfire with the shooter, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Troops ran over and held down the shooter, Carroll said, and he was taken into custody. Authorities believe he was the only gunman.
Carroll said that it was not clear whether one of the Guard members or a law enforcement officer shot the suspect and that investigators so far had no information on a motive.
The suspect’s wounds were not believed to be life-threatening, one of the officials said.
The suspect and his pathway to the US
Lakanwal, 29, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.
The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. The program has drawn intense criticism from President Donald Trump and other Republicans over what they have argued are gaps in the vetting process and the speed of admissions. Supporters have said the initiative has offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.
Prior to his arrival in the United States, the suspect worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director, said in a statement.
Ratcliffe did not specify what work Lakamal did, but said the relationship “ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation” of U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.
Lakamal has been living in Washington state with his wife and five children, according to his former landlord, Kristina Widman.
Pirro said Lakamal currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The charges could be upgraded, Pirro added.
“We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge,” she said.
More National Guard troops
Soon after the shooting, Trump said he would send 500 more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. It’s not clear where the additional troops would come from.
As of early November, the D.C. National Guard had the largest number on the ground, with 949 members. In addition to West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama also had forces in the capital early this month.
A federal judge last week ordered an end to the Guard deployment but also put her order on hold for 21 days to allow the Trump administration time to either remove the troops or appeal.
Associated Press journalists Alanna Durkin Richer, Eric Tucker, Michael R. Sisak, Mike Balsamo, Michael Biesecker, Anthony Izaguirre and Jesse Bedayn contributed to this report.
