2 National Guard members in critical condition; D.C. shooting suspect is an Afghan national
Updated
November 26, 2025 at 9:34 p.m. EST 1 min ago
Two West Virginia National Guard members were in critical condition Wednesday after they were shot just outside the White House complex in downtown Washington in what officials said appeared to be a targeted attack.
The suspected shooter has been identified as an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 and at some point lived in Washington state, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. Two of those people said the suspect was Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The suspect, who was also shot, was taken into custody, Jeffery Carroll, executive assistant chief with the D.C. police, told reporters at a news conference. He described the person as a “lone gunman” who “ambushed” the Guard members.
Carroll declined to comment on a suspected motive.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) initially said both Guard members were killed, but he later said he was getting “conflicting reports” about their condition.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, told reporters that President Donald Trump requested a deployment of 500 additional Guard troops to Washington after news of the shooting.
Alex Horton
Matt Zeller, a former Army officer who served in Afghanistan and co-founded No One Left Behind, an organization to resettle Afghan allies in the country, condemned the shooting as a tragedy and a heinous attack. He urged Americans not to turn against those who stood beside U.S. forces: “Hundreds of thousands of Afghans served honorably shoulder to shoulder with American military members throughout the duration of the Afghan war … Don’t allow those who seek to divide us to win.”
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