Two West Virginia national guardsmen shot near the White House remained in critical condition on Wednesday in an attack that rattled the country’s capital.
The incident comes amid a controversial deployment of troops to Washington DC ordered by the Trump administration. FBI director Kash Patel, Washington mayor Muriel Bowser and other officials confirmed in a press conference that both the guardsmen were in the hospital and described the shooting as “targeted”.
Officials have identified a suspect, who is currently in custody, as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States in September 2021 under a Biden-era policy allowing Afghans to enter the country after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
In a video posted on the White House’s X account on Wednesday evening, Donald Trump said that the Department of Homeland Security had confirmed that “the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan.” He called Afghanistan “a hellhole on earth” and the suspect an “animal” before criticizing the Biden program. .
“This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” Trump said, calling for an investigation into all Afghans who entered the US on the Operation Allies Welcome program and adding that he had ordered 500 additional national guard troops deployed to Washington.
The shooting unfolded near the Farragut West metro station. Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant police chief, said the suspect “came around the corner” and “immediately started firing a firearm” at the troops. The suspect was also shot during the interaction and was transferred to a hospital. It was unclear who shot the suspect.
Patel said the incident would be treated as an “assault on a [federal] officer” and that the FBI would work with the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the mayor and local police “because this is a matter of national security”.
Earlier in the day, West Virginia’s governor Patrick Morrisey showed some confusion by saying both soldiers had been killed, but later posted an update clarifying that more information was needed. In a video posted on social media later in the evening, Morrisey said he had recently spoken with Trump and that they were “going to keep working to make sure justice is served.”
A taskforce of an estimated 2,375 national guard troops are currently activated in Washington, with West Virginia making up the second largest contingent at 416 troops, only behind DC’s national guard at 949 troops.
Trump’s request for additional troops came just hours after he filed an emergency motion asking a federal appeals court to allow the national guard to remain in Washington. The president’s filing followed a lower court’s order last week requiring his administration halt the guard’s deployment to the nation’s capital, citing the Home Rule Act.
If the appeals court does not grant Trump’s motion, national guard troops could be ordered out of Washington by 11 December.
Speaking at an army base in Kentucky, JD Vance, the vice-president, asked “everyone who’s a person of faith to say a prayer for those two national guardsmen that they’re able to spend Thanksgiving with their families”. He added that all soldiers, whether active duty or national guardsmen, “are the sword and the shield of the United States of America”.
Former president Barack Obama condemned the shooting in a statement on social media on Wednesday evening. “Violence has no place in America. Michelle and I are praying for the servicemembers shot in Washington, DC today, and send our love to their families as they enter this holiday season under the most tragic of circumstances,” he wrote.
Earlier at the scene, witnesses reported seeing several national guard troops running across the square. Office buildings in the square were put under lockdown, with workers told to leave by rear door if they wished to leave the premises. The Guardian’s Washington office, located on Farragut Square Park, was under lockdown. Law enforcement officers also ordered staff in the buildings to stay away from glass doors adjoining the square. The White House was also locked down.
National guard troops have been positioned across Washington since August, when the Trump administration declared a “crime emergency” in the city and ordered them in to support federal and local law enforcement.
The other states that sent their national guard to Washington include South Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, though several state officials told the Associated Press in October they plan to end their deployments by 30 November.
Lucy Campbell and Cecilia Nowell contributed reporting
