Two West Virginia National Guard members, deployed to Washington, D.C., are in critical condition after being shot near the White House on Wednesday in an incident officials have labeled a “targeted” attack.
Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll stated in a press conference that the shooting occurred around 2:15 p.m. while National Guard members were conducting “high visibility patrols.” Carroll described the suspect as a “lone gunman” who was apprehended following an exchange of gunfire. It remains uncertain whether the suspect was shot by one of the Guard members or another law enforcement officer responding to the scene. The apprehended suspect was transported to a hospital, as were the injured National Guard members.
President Donald Trump, who was at his Mar-a-Lago beach club in Florida at the time, remarked that “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.”
Trump, who had previously sent more than 2,000 National Guard members to the nation’s capital since August to combat crime and the city, ordered an additional 500 National Guard members to be deployed to D.C. after the shooting, Defense Secretary announced. Hegseth affirmed, “We will never back down. We will secure our capital.”
Later, in a , Trump characterized the shooting as “a monstrous, ambush-style attack” and “an act of terror.” He lauded the mission of the National Guard troops stationed in D.C. and reiterated that the assailant would face “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 entered the U.S. during President Joe Biden’s Administration and utilizing the attack to advance his anti-immigration agenda.
“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 asserted. “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them.”
Here’s what is currently known.
What transpired?
Carroll reported that the incident took place in the vicinity of 17th and I Street Northwest, approximately two blocks from the White House. According to Carroll, the suspect “came around the corner” and “immediately” opened fire on the patrolling National Guard members.
Upon hearing gunfire, other National Guard members intervened and ultimately restrained the suspect, who Carroll indicated was shot “during the interaction,” though it remains unclear by whom. Carroll also noted that Secret Service officers, along with other area law enforcement, were seen responding to the scene in photos and videos shared on social media, quickly arriving to assist in the incident.
Who are the injured?
A law enforcement official informed that the two National Guard members from West Virginia, who have not been publicly named, consist of a woman and a man. Both are receiving medical care at local hospitals.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, in a , condemned the shooting as “an act of unspeakable violence.”
Morrisey initially announced the deaths of the two victims in a , but later appeared to retract that statement, noting in a follow-up that his office was “receiving conflicting reports” regarding their conditions.
Who is the alleged perpetrator?
Law enforcement officials have identified the suspect to the and other news 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 told that the suspect was identified through fingerprint analysis, although further confirmation is still being sought.
“At this point we have no other suspects,” Carroll stated.
In his video address on Wednesday night, Trump affirmed 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. “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.”
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 told . Authorities stated they are still working to determine how and when the suspect obtained the gun. Federal law restricts the sale of firearms to individuals who are not citizens or legal permanent residents. Washington state—where the suspect is believed to have been residing, according to AP sources—also has stringent gun laws, including mandatory background checks on all sales and transfers.
Officials disclosed that the FBI is initially investigating the shooting as a potential act of international terrorism.
Vice President J.D. Vance, in an address to troops at Fort Campbell, Ky., commented: “We’re still learning everything. We still don’t know the motive. There’s a lot that we haven’t yet figured out.”