What you need to know
• Two members of the West Virginia National Guard are in critical condition and have undergone surgery after being shot yesterday in Washington, DC, in what President Donald Trump condemned as an “act of terror.”
• The suspect drove across the country from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to DC and used a .357 revolver in the shooting, US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said. Pirro identified the Guard members as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe.
• The suspect has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who came to the US in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome and was granted asylum in April. The Trump administration has halted processing similar cases of Afghan immigrants “indefinitely” as the president makes the case for an even more intense immigration crackdown.
• Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested on Fox News today that the administration could pursue terrorism charges and possibly the death penalty in the case.
FBI leading "coast to coast” investigation into DC shooting, Patel says
Multiple law enforcement agencies are working a “coast to coast” investigation into how and why an Afghan national allegedly traveled from the state of Washington to Washington, DC, and shot two members of the National Guard.
The suspect, identified as an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, drove across the country from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to DC, authorities say.
“We immediately, with our law enforcement partners in the Metropolitan Police Department and the interagency, secured the scene, seized the weapon, sent in our Evidence Response Team immediately to collect evidence and started doing block-by-block canvases,” FBI Director Kash Patel said this morning.
A firearm and other evidence were sent yesterday to the FBI laboratory in Quantico for analysis, Patel said.
“Partnering with the DC United States Attorney’s Office, we have also executed multiple … search warrants around the country to include the subject’s last known residence,” said Patel.
Investigators interviewed everyone in the suspect’s home, he said.
Interviews are also being conducted in San Diego “pursuant to our ongoing investigation,” he said.
Investigators will also look into the suspect’s connections to US forces in Afghanistan and any known associates in the US or overseas, the FBI director said.
Trump arrives at West Palm Beach golf club
President Donald Trump has arrived at his West Palm Beach, Florida, golf club as the first family spends the Thanksgiving holiday at Mar-a-Lago.
The president made the brief drive to Trump International Golf Club just before 10:00 am ET.
Trump was at his golf club on Wednesday when reports of a shooting near the White House began to emerge. He received regular briefings from Attorney General Pamela Bondi, she said during an appearance on Fox News Thursday morning.
He delivered an address to the nation from his club late Thursday night. Trump is expected to hold the customary Thanksgiving call with US service members later Thursday.
Patel says suspect had connections to US forces in Afghanistan
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the suspect in the shooting of two US National Guard members had connections to US forces in Afghanistan.
Suspect Rahmanulla Lakanwal “had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces,” Patel told reporters during a Thursday news conference. Lakanwal came to the United States in 2021 as part of “Operation Allies Welcome.” He applied for asylum in 2024 and it was granted in April 2025.
His ties to the US in Afghanistan are part of the ongoing investigation, Patel said.
“We are fully investigating that aspect of his background as well, to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America,” he said.
National Guard victims were sworn in a day before they were shot, according to US attorney
The two National Guard members who were victims of yesterday’s shooting in Washington, DC, were “sworn in” just 24 hours before they were shot, according to DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro. It is unclear what Pirro meant by sworn in.
Pirro earlier identified the victims of the shooting as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. They remain in critical condition.
Both are members of the West Virginia National Guard who were deployed in DC.
Motive for shooting of Guard members under investigation
Investigators aren’t ready to say what the motive was in the shooting of two members of the West Virginia National Guard in Washington, DC, according to the federal prosecutor leading the case against suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Lakanwal is under guard at a DC hospital after being taken down, said Pirro.
“He got shot by another guardsmen,” she said.
Alleged gunman will be charged with assault with intent to kill
The man authorities say opened fire on service members in Washington, DC, yesterday, gravely wounding two members of the West Virginia National Guard, will be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said today.
He faces 15 years under the assault with the intent to kill charge, Pirro said.
The charges are subject to change depending on the well-being of the wounded Guard members, according to Pirro.
“We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree,” she said, adding, “We will hold this perpetrator accountable under the full weight of the law.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News earlier today that the administration could pursue terrorism charges and possibly the death penalty in the case.
Victims in critical condition and have undergone surgery, DC US Attorney says
The two National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, are in critical condition and have undergone surgery, US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said this morning.
Pirro identified the victims of yesterday’s shooting as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. Both are members of the West Virginia National Guard who were deployed in DC.
The two National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, are in critical condition and have undergone surgery, US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said this morning.
This post has been updated with the names of the service members shot in DC yesterday.
Prosecutor says shooting suspect drove to DC from home in Washington state
The suspect in the shooting of two members of the West Virginia National Guard on patrol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday lives in Bellingham, Washington, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a news conference.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal is a 29-year-old Afghan national admitted to the US as part of Operation Allies Welcome, said Pirro.
Lakanwal resides in Bellingham with his wife and children, Pirro added.
Gunman was armed with a Smith and Wesson revolver, DC US attorney says
The suspected gunman in yesterday’s shooting was armed with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver, according to DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
“Two uniformed guardsmen were ambushed in a brazen and targeted attack,” she said during a news conference today.
“A lone gunman opened fire without provocation, ambush-style, armed with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver. One guardsman is struck, goes down and then the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman again. Another guardsman is struck several times,” Pirro said.
Other National Guard members who were at the scene “responded immediately,” Pirro added.
Prosecutors could seek death penalty for shooter, attorney general says
As two National Guard members lie in critical condition in DC-area hospitals, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said today she would seek the death penalty for their alleged shooter.
“Pray today for these two soldiers, these two guards, the man and woman,” Bondi told Fox News.
The suspect in the shooting has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who officials say came to the US in 2021. He was also wounded and taken to a hospital yesterday, authorities said.
“We’re waiting right now, of course, on the prognosis of the young man and woman who are in the hospital,” Bondi said.
“So it is going to depend on, on what happens to them. Again we’re praying for a recovery for them, but worst case scenario, minimum, life in prison with terrorism charges,” she said, adding there is still a very active investigation.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Bondi says federal agencies "are working together, and we will not be deterred"
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared new details on the robust federal investigation into the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House yesterday, involving multiple departments and agencies.
Bondi said in an appearance on Fox News today that in addition to the National Guard and Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security, US Marshals, and the Department of Treasury are involved in the ongoing investigation.
The attorney general said she has spoken multiple times with President Donald Trump as well as DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. She praised the DC Metropolitan Police Department, who she said, “jumped in last night to have the backs of our Guard members, who have always had their backs.”
One victim was young woman who volunteered to work Thanksgiving, Bondi says
One of the West Virginia National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, was female, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Bondi told Fox News on Thursday that one of the victims was a “young woman” who had volunteered to work in the nation’s capital over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“She volunteered, as did many of those guardsmen and women, so other people could be home with their families, yet now their families are in hospital rooms with them while they are fighting for their lives,” she said.
NYC police commissioner says threat of attack is "baked into" planning for Thanksgiving parade
While the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington, DC, is at the top of mind, New York City’s top police officer says there are “no known specific credible threats” to the city’s Thanksgiving parade this year.
“Unfortunately, (the DC shooting) is part of a growing trend that we’ve seen over the past year: increased attacks on our men and women in uniform,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told NBC’s “Today” show this morning. “That’s baked into our planning already for this event.”
Tisch said thousands of NYPD officers will be working to protect the parade route. “Some that you can see. Many that you won’t be able to see,” she said.
Suspect worked with CIA in Afghanistan, agency's director says
The suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members previously worked in Afghanistan with the US government, including the CIA, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who allegedly opened fire on two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, DC, had served as an Afghan partner to the CIA in Kandahar, Ratcliffe said in a statement to Fox News Digital yesterday.
Lakanwal is an Afghan national who officials say came to the US in 2021 under a program implemented by the Biden administration in the wake of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Deployment of West Virginia National Guard in DC under legal challenge
The decision to deploy more than 300 members of the West Virginia National Guard to Washington, DC — including the two who were shot Wednesday — was the subject of two separate lawsuits challenging the deployments, with mixed results.
A federal judge’s ruled a week ago that President Trump had exceeded his authority by bringing in out-of-state members of the Guard and directly calling up members of the DC National Guard to assist local law enforcement.
That decision remains on hold pending an appeal.
In separate lawsuit filed in a West Virginia circuit, a judge ruled earlier this month that the state’s Republican governor, Patrick Morrisey, had the authority to call up members of his state’s Guard and contribute them to President Trump’s deployment in DC.
“This court believes that the federal law allows for the request made by the president to the governor,” wrote Judge Richard D. Lindsay.
Army secretary says he visited injured guard members in the hospital
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll said late Wednesday he visited the two National Guard members who were shot earlier in the day near the White House and called for prayers.
Both Guard members are in critical condition, officials said at an earlier news conference.
Trump vows immigration crackdown after shooting of National Guard members in DC
It took only a few hours for President Donald Trump to turn what he called “an act of evil, and an act of terror” into a full-blown argument for an even more intense crackdown on immigration.
His vow came as authorities held a man Trump described as an Afghan national over the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard reservists in Washington, DC. They were in the capital as part of Trump’s controversial deployment of troops to bolster law enforcement.
The president, speaking on video from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, pivoted quickly from paying tribute to the victims of the tragedy to blaming the Biden administration for bringing the alleged shooter to the US after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021. He claimed the incident “underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.”
But he also used the moment to drive home his campaign against other migrants in politically charged remarks that went far beyond Afghanistan – at a moment when his administration is moving to reinterview some refugees admitted under President Joe Biden and revoking temporary protected status for those from several dangerous world hot spots.
Read the full analysis here.
What is Operation Allies Welcome, the program officials say brought the suspect to the US?
The suspect accused of shooting two National Guard members came to the US on September 8, 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Operation Allies Welcome is a Biden-era program, launched in August 2021 to protect vulnerable Afghans in the wake of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Most Afghans who arrived under Operation Allies Welcome were allowed to enter and remain in the US for two years. More than 40% of the migrants admitted in the program were eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) because they took great risks to help the US, or were related to someone who did, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it earlier this year, under the Trump administration, according to multiple law enforcement officials.
Over 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the US under Operation Allies Welcome, which was later renamed Enduring Welcome, according to the State Department.
Since taking office in January, Trump has enacted sweeping changes to US refugee policy and foreign assistance, cutting off thousands of Afghans who helped the US during the war from critical resources, as CNN has reported.
Read more here on the program that officials say brought the suspect to the US.
Attack on 2 National Guard members is a "targeted shooting,” DC mayor says
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser condemned what she called a “targeted shooting” in the district that left two National Guard members in critical condition.
“Today’s attack on two members of the West Virginia National Guard was horrific and unconscionable,” Bowser wrote on X yesterday.
She offered prayers for the victims and their loved ones.
