A police officer secures the area as law enforcement officials attend the crime scene of a shooting in downtown Washington, D.C., on Nov. 26, 2025.
Credit - Brendan Smialowski— AFP/Getty Images
Two West Virginia National Guard servicemembers deployed to Washington, D.C., are in critical condition after they were shot near the White House on Wednesday in what officials have called a "targeted" attack.
The shooting happened at around 2:15 p.m., while National Guard members were conducting "high visibility patrols," Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said in a press conference. The suspect appeared to be a "lone gunman," Carroll said. He was taken into custody after an exchange of gunfire, although Carroll said it was unclear whether he was shot by one of the guard members or another law enforcement officer responding to the scene. The suspect, who was apprehended, was transported to a hospital, as were the injured National Guard members.
"The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price," President Donald Trump, who was at his Mar-a-Lago beach club in Florida at the time,posted on Truth Social.
Trump, whocontroversially mobilizedmore than 2,000 National Guard members to the nation's capital since August in an effort to combat crime and "beautify" the city, ordered an additional 500 National Guard members to be deployed to D.C. since the shooting, Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth announced. "We will never back down. We will secure our capital," Hegseth said.
Later, in avideo address, Trump called the shooting "a monstrous, ambush-style attack" and "an act of terror." He hailed the mission of the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. and reiterated that the shooter would pay "the steepest possible price."
"As we are filled with anguish and grief for those who were shot, we are also filled with righteous anger and ferocious resolve," Trump added, before identifying the shooter as an Afghan national who came to the U.S. during President Joe Biden's Administration and using the attack to promote his anti-immigration platform.
"We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country," Trump said. "If they can't love our country, we don't want them."
Here's what we know so far.
What happened?
The incident occurred in the area of 17th and I Street Northwest, Carroll said, which is roughly two blocks from the White House. Carroll said the suspect "came around the corner" and "immediately" fired at the patrolling National Guard members.
After hearing gunfire, other National Guard members intervened and eventually held down the suspect, whom Carroll said was shot "during the interaction," though it remained unclear by whom. Sourcestold CBS Newsthat the suspect was shot four times. In photos and videos on social media, Secret Service officers could also be seen responding to the scene, and other law enforcement in the area soon arrived to assist in the incident, Carroll said.
Army Secretary Dan Driscollpostedlate on Wednesday that he visited the two Guardsmen in the hospital. "My heart breaks for them, their families, and those impacted by the horrific attack in our Nation's capital," Driscoll wrote.
Who are the victims?
The two National Guard members from West Virginia, who have not been publicly identified, were a woman and a man, a law enforcement official toldABC. They are being treated at local hospitals.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, ina video message posted on X, condemned the shooting as "an act of unspeakable violence."
Morrisey initially said in apostthat the two victims had died, before appearing to retract that announcement, noting in a follow-uppostthat his office was "receiving conflicting reports" about their conditions.
Who is the suspect?
Law enforcement officials have identified the suspect to theAssociated Pressand other outlets as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who immigrated to the U.S. in 2021 and was granted asylum this year. Officials toldCNNthat the suspect was identified by running his fingerprints, although they are still seeking additional confirmation.
"At this point we have no other suspects," Carroll said.
A relative, speaking toNBC, said Lakanwal served in the Afghan army for 10 years alongside U.S. Special Forces troops, and was stationed at a base in Kandahar for a portion of his time in service. The relative said the suspect grew up in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, and was living in Bellingham, Wash., along with his wife and five children. The relative also said that he and Lakanwal haven't spoken in a while, recalling that the suspect had been working for Amazon and Amazon Flex during their last conversation.
"I cannot believe it that he might do this," the relative told NBC.
The suspect sustained gunshot wounds that are not believed to be life-threatening, a law enforcement official told the AP.
Officials believe the suspect used a handgun, which investigators have recovered, officials toldCNN. The officials said they are still determining how and when the suspect obtained the gun. The sale of firearms to people who are not citizens or legal permanent residents is restricted by federal law. Washington state also has strict gun laws, including background checks on all sales and transfers.
The FBI is initially investigating the shooting as a potential act of international terrorism, officials toldNBC.
Vice President J.D. Vance, in an address to troops at Fort Campbell, Ky.,said: "We're still learning everything. We still don't know the motive. There's a lot that we haven't yet figured out."
How has it been politicized?
In his video address Wednesday night, Trump said that the Department of Homeland Security is "confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on Earth."
"He was flown in by the Biden Administration in September 2021 on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about," Trump said, referring to the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan after the U.S.'s withdrawal from the country. "Nobody knew who was coming in. Nobody knew anything about it. His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden, a disastrous President, the worst in the history of our country. This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation. The last Administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners from all over the world, from places that you don't want to even know about. No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in a post on X,specifiedthat Lakanwal entered the U.S. through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program that granted two-year paroles to vulnerable Afghan nationals on a case-by-case basis.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe toldFox Newsthat Lakanwal, as a member of a partner force in Afghanistan, worked with many U.S. government entities, including the CIA. Ratcliffe claimed the Biden Administration "justified bringing" Lakanwal to the U.S. because of his prior government work.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R, Ky.) said in aposton X that he was one of 16 Republicans to vote against the Biden-era Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act (ALLIES) Act, which eased entry requirements and increased the number of visas for Afghans fleeing the Taliban. "The news probably won't tell you this: the U.S. House of Representatives voted to relax vetting and increase visas for Afghan nationals seeking to enter the United States during the Biden administration, but I voted no," Massie wrote. The bill passed by an overwhelming and bipartisan 407-16 vote in the House in July 2021, but it stalled in the Senate.
"I remember back in 2021 criticizing the Biden policy of opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees. Friends sent me messages calling me a racist. It was a clarifying moment," Vancepostedon X.
"We will first bring the shooter to justice, and then we must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country," headded.
Others on the right blamed, without evidence, Islam for the attack. Rep. Andy Biggs (R, Ariz.) said in aposton X, "Islam is incompatible with American values." Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R, Ala.)posted, "We must IMMEDIATELY BAN all ISLAM immigrants and DEPORT every single Islamist who is living among us just waiting to attack."
The processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals has been "stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in apost. That comes after the Trump Administration having alreadymovedto reinterview refugees admitted under the Biden Administration, according to an internal memo obtained by news outlets earlier this week.
A nonprofit organization dedicated to resettling Afghan people has called on the public to exercise discretion and "not to demonize the Afghan community for the deranged choice this person made."
"We reject and condemn anyone who uses, or seeks to use, violence, and we stand with every American who is horrified and saddened by this crime," Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, said in astatement. "Those who would twist this moment to attack Afghan families aren't seeking safety or justice—they're exploiting division and endangering all of us."
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