A shocking shooting near the White House has renewed scrutiny of former President Biden’s under-vetted Afghan resettlement program after, authorities said an Afghan national who once worked with American forces allegedly ambushed two National Guard troops.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had previously served in the Afghan Army alongside U.S. Special Forces in Kandahar before fleeing his home country.
A family member said he later arrived in the United States in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, the emergency refugee program launched during Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.
Sources familiar with the case said Lakanwal ultimately overstayed his visa and was living in the United States illegally.
National Guard shot near the White House at a little before 2:15.
I was in an Uber to work, with my cameraman, and heard multiple shots fired as we passed Farragut West.
A member of the National Guard fell while others rushed onto the scene.
Area still on lockdown and… pic.twitter.com/A4wKORrEZg
— Mari Otsu (@marisotsu) November 26, 2025
According to the relative, Lakanwal had been injured during his Afghan military service and fled the country as the Taliban regained control.
The same relative told NBC News, “We were the ones that were targeted by the Taliban in Afghanistan,” and added, “I cannot believe it that he might do this.”
Federal authorities and National Guard officials are still piecing together what happened during the attack, but investigators believe the assault was calculated.
Lakanwal allegedly waited for two uniformed Guardsmen to turn a corner before opening fire just steps away from the White House.
Officials said he shot a female guard in the chest and then in the head before turning his weapon on a second guard, striking him as well.
Witness accounts reported that he yelled “Allahu Akbar” at some point during the shooting.
🚨LE source in D.C. tells me the National Guardsmen shooting suspect is an Afghan national who used a revolver.
A National Guardsman, who was not armed with a firearm, used a pocket knife to stab the suspect. Another Guardsman responded to the gunfire and shot the suspect…
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) November 26, 2025
According to journalist Jack Posobiec, the suspect “had four rounds, but managed to hit the female guard in the chest. He then approached her, took her weapon, and shot her point-blank in the head.”
“Using [the female Guard member’s] firearm, [the suspect] continued shooting at the other guardsmen, hitting one in the neck, until a third guard engaged and subdued him.”
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Lakanwal had been living in Bellingham, Washington, an area near the Canadian border that welcomed other Afghan refugees after the Biden administration rushed tens of thousands of evacuees into the country.
That same influx has faced mounting criticism after repeated warnings that many arrivals had not been properly screened.
One of the most striking early warnings came in September 2022, when the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General revealed that Biden’s deputies admitted Afghans who were “not fully vetted” and might “pose a risk to national security.”
The report highlighted ongoing failures overseen by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Just months earlier, in November 2021, Mayorkas himself acknowledged during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that “not all” Afghan arrivals were screened through “in-person, refugee interviews.”
As these past warnings resurface, Biden’s handling of Afghan resettlement is facing intense blowback.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly condemned the failures that allowed Lakanwal to enter and remain in the country.
“The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration,” Noem stated.
The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration.
I will not utter this depraved individual’s name.…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) November 27, 2025
She added that the Guardsmen harmed in the attack are “mothers, fathers, sisters, daughters, children of God, carrying out the same basic public safety and immigration laws enshrined in law for decades.”
Noem also took aim at critics who undermine law enforcement. “The politicians and media who continue to vilify our men and women in uniform need to take a long hard look in the mirror.”
President Donald Trump, who addressed the nation Tuesday night, called the attack an “act of terror” and said it was a crime not only against the victims but “against our entire nation.”
“He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021,” Trump noted. “Nobody knew who was coming in. Nobody knew anything about it.”
.@POTUS: "My great fellow Americans, earlier today on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, two members of the National Guard serving in Washington, D.C. were shot at point blank range in a monstrous, ambush-style attack just steps away from the White House… This heinous assault… pic.twitter.com/3nmv426LRq
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 27, 2025
Trump also described Biden as “a disastrous president” and again pushed for sweeping vetting reforms.
He said, “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.”
The president vowed that the attacker will be held fully accountable and warned that the United States “will never bend and never yield in the face of terror.”
The administration had already taken steps in October to tighten refugee admissions, drastically reducing the number of global refugees allowed into the country to 7,500, which is far below the 125,000 the Biden administration had planned.
But following the shooting, the White House ordered even more aggressive action.
On Wednesday night, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that all immigration processing for Afghan nationals is being halted.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” the agency announced.
USCIS said its mission remains focused on the safety of the American people.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth also confirmed that 500 additional National Guard troops will be sent to Washington.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump and Pete Hegseth SURGE ANOTHER 500 TROOPS into Washington DC as a result of the shooting,
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"POTUS has asked me [to] add 500 additional National Guardsmen to Washington DC."
"Someone decided to TARGET National Guardsmen. That will… pic.twitter.com/p2HzqVLMJd
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 26, 2025
He said the move reflects a commitment to maintaining security after the attack.
“This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful. The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic,” Hegseth said.
He added that the nation would not bow to violent criminals. “If criminals want to conduct things like this, violence against America’s best, we will never back down. President Trump will never back down. That’s why the American people elected him.”
According to Trump, both National Guardsmen are critically injured and being treated at separate hospitals. He added that the suspect was severely wounded.
