Two National Guard members from West Virginia were shot and killed while on duty in Washington, D.C., near the White House. Authorities said two members were seriously injured and are in critical condition.
The suspect detained after Wednesday’s shooting incident is reported to be an Afghan national.
In the wake of the shooting, President Donald Trump said his administration must re-examine all immigrants who entered the United States from Afghanistan during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
What happened in Washington DC?
On Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, two National Guardsmen were shot and killed a few blocks from the White House.
The soldiers were taken to hospitals and remain in critical condition, FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
In August, President Trump sent federal troops, including the National Guard, to Washington, D.C., to combat crime in federal control of the city.
Who are the suspects?
According to media reports, the suspect has been identified as Rahmanullah Rakanwar, a 29-year-old Afghan national. The suspect’s identity was confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and his last name was spelled Lakamal. He was shot and wounded by law enforcement responding to the attack.
The suspect did not have life-threatening injuries, the Associated Press reported, citing an anonymous law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
He arrived in the United States in 2021 through the Biden administration’s Operation Welcoming Allies program, according to DHS.
The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 after the US withdrew its troops from the country and then-President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
Mr. Biden immediately launched the Open Ally Welcome Program, which allows vulnerable Afghans, especially those who may be viewed by the Taliban as US “collaborators,” to enter the United States for two years without permanent resident status.
The Congressional Research Service estimates that about 77,000 Afghans came to the United States under the program, which lasted a year before the United States moved to a long-term resettlement program known as Operation Enduring Welcome.
“The suspect who shot and killed our brave National Guard was an Afghan national and one of many who were released on mass parole to the United States without review under Operation Welcoming Allies on September 8, 2021, under the Biden administration,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Wednesday on X-Post.
“This program has allowed thousands of Afghan nationals, including terrorists, to enter our country without being vetted,” Noem said in a statement posted on the DHS website.
CNN reported, citing anonymous law enforcement officials, that Lakamal applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted asylum in 2025 under the Trump administration.
How did the U.S. government respond to this attack?
In a video address from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, President Trump called the shooting a “huge ambush” and “an act of evil, an act of hate, and an act of terrorism.”
“As President of the United States, I am determined to make the animals who perpetrated this cruelty pay the highest price possible,” Trump added.
He added, “Based on the best available information, I can report tonight that the Department of Homeland Security believes the suspect in our custody is an alien who entered our country from hell on earth, Afghanistan. He was airlifted by the Biden administration in September 2021.”
President Trump claimed that during the Biden administration, “no one knew who was going to be on the plane” from Afghanistan to the United States. He said Lakamal’s status was “extended pursuant to the legislation signed by President Biden.”
“This attack highlights the greatest national security threat facing our country. The previous administration allowed 20 million unknown and unvetted foreign nationals from all over the world and from unknown locations.”
“We must now, under the Biden administration, re-examine all foreign nationals who enter our country from Afghanistan, and we must take all necessary steps to ensure we remove foreign nationals who do not belong here or who benefit our country,” Trump announced.
Patel said the mass shooting in the U.S. capital was a “national security issue.”
“We have brought together the combined efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement and have committed every resource to ensure we find the perpetrators of this heinous act,” Patel added.
The White House has filed an emergency motion in federal court in the District of Columbia seeking to halt an earlier ruling to remove the National Guard from Washington, D.C.
Who came to the United States from Afghanistan under “Operation Welcome Allies”?
According to the DHS website, more than 40 percent of Afghans who arrived in the United States through the program were eligible for the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), which is given to Afghans who supported 20 years of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Afghans worked with U.S. forces in several support roles, including interpreters, guides, drivers, engineers, and medics. They were often in direct danger from the Taliban, who viewed them as collaborators. Many were also exposed to active combat zones, forced to evacuate their homes, and at risk of losing their livelihoods as the United States withdrew from the country.
In August 2021, footage was released of an Afghan man desperately trying to flee the country, clinging to a US Air Force plane as it taxied. Two people were seen falling from the sky as the plane took off.
Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, fearing persecution and economic collapse. Many have attempted to flee to neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Iran, while others have fled to the United States, Britain and Europe.
How were Afghan immigrants vetted under the Biden administration?
The Trump administration claims the Afghans were allowed into the United States without proper vetting.
But a Department of Homeland Security webpage detailing Operation Welcoming Allies at the time said, “The U.S. government is working around the clock to conduct security checks and inspections before allowing vulnerable Afghans to enter the United States, consistent with the dual goals of protecting national security and protecting our Afghan allies.”
The website added that DHS has deployed approximately 400 personnel from multiple agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, and Secret Service, to Bahrain, Germany, Kuwait, Italy, Qatar, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates to work with the Department of Defense (DOD), states, and other federal partners to process, screen, vet, and interview Afghan nationals.
DHS added that the review process is “rigorous” and “multilayered.” This included biometric and background screening conducted by DHS and DOD intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism experts in collaboration with the FBI, National Counterterrorism Center, and other intelligence community partners.
Biometric data, including fingerprints and photographs, was checked before all Afghans were allowed to travel to the United States, officials said.
What other countries are facing visa restrictions under the Trump administration?
In June, President Trump signed an executive order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States. Later that month, US media reported that the Trump administration plans to add 36 more countries to the list, 26 of which are in Africa. However, the travel ban list has not yet been officially expanded.
The countries on the list are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Citizens of these countries will be completely prohibited from traveling to the United States, and their immigrant and nonimmigrant visas will also be suspended. However, those with existing visas or lawful permanent residents of the United States are exempt from this ban. Holders of Afghan-made SIVs are also exempt.
In the same proclamation, President Trump placed partial restrictions on citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
Under President Trump’s proclamation, citizens of these countries will no longer be able to apply for immigrant visas or temporary nonimmigrant visas for permanent resident, student, or tourist visas. They may still apply for other temporary visas.
In October, President Trump announced a new U.S. refugee cap of 7,500 for fiscal year 2026, prioritizing white South Africans who have been subjected to “white genocide.”
The Trump administration announced on Monday that it would revoke temporary asylum, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS), for Myanmar nationals living in the United States. TPS is a legal entry route for foreign nationals who are deemed unsafe to return to their home country, and 3,969 Myanmar nationals are currently under TPS. The military seized power in Myanmar in 2021, and a civil war has continued ever since.
