FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday that the United States is treating the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House as a terrorism investigation.
Patel said the suspected shooter, an Afghan national, had previously worked in Afghanistan with US forces and intelligence.
What’s the latest on the Washington shootings?
“This is an ongoing terrorism investigation,” Patel told reporters a day after both guard members were seriously injured in the shooting.
“We are also thoroughly investigating that aspect of his background, to include any known associates abroad or here in the United States, which is what a broad-based international terrorism investigation looks like,” he said.
At the same briefing, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, identified the victims as 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe. Both were admitted to the hospital in critical condition after the firing on Wednesday afternoon.
Pirro also warned that charges could be upgraded depending on the condition of the victims: “We are praying that they survive and the highest charge will not be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they don’t, that will definitely be the charge.”
The FBI continues to investigate any possible foreign connections and domestic associates, while both victims remain in critical care.
What do we know about the suspect?
Pirro said the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had driven from across the country to the US capital to carry out an “ambush-style” attack using a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. He is currently charged with armed assault with intent to murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. Pirro said it was “too early to say” what the suspect’s intentions were.
The 29-year-old suspect has been living in the US since entering the country in 2021 through Operation Alley’s Welcome, an initiative of the Joe Biden administration that has relocated thousands of Afghans since the US withdrawal.
Officials said about 76,000 people were brought to the US under the program, many of them former interpreters and local staff who had worked with US troops and diplomats.
The effort has faced scrutiny from Trump and his allies, as well as congressional Republicans and a number of watchdogs, over gaps in the vetting process and the speed of entry. Meanwhile, advocates have argued that the program has provided an important outlet for people fearful of Taliban reprisals.
The suspect has been identified as Lakmal, who lives with his wife and five children in Bellingham, Washington state, about 80 miles (about 120 kilometers) north of Seattle, according to former homeowner Christina Widman.
According to officials, before arriving in the US in 2021, he had worked with the US government – including the CIA – “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar.”
Trump said after the suspect’s arrest that the US would re-investigate “every single alien” entering the country from Afghanistan under Biden.
Shortly afterward, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on June 10 that it was halting the processing of all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals, effective immediately and indefinitely.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko