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President Donald Trump rages at shooting of two Guardsmen in nation’s capital on eve of Thanksgiving
Katie Hawkinson,Mike Bedigan,Alisha Rahaman Sarkar,Joe SommerladThursday 27 November 2025 12:20 GMT
CloseDonald Trump calls for reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered under Biden administration after National Guard shooting
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One of the two National Guard troops shot by in Washington, D.C., Wednesday has been named as Andrew Wolfe of West Virginia, with his former high school reporting on Facebook that he is undergoing surgery and remains in a criticial condition.
The two Guardsmen were critically wounded in a shooting outside of a metro station in downtown Washington close to the White House on the eve of Thanksgiving in what officials described as a targeted ambush.
Overnight, President Donald Trump condemned the attack as a “act of terror” and a “crime against humanity” in a televised address from Mar-a-Lago.
The suspect has since been identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the country in September 2021 and was granted asylum by the Trump administration in April, according to CNN.
Trump has nevertheless blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for allowing Lakanwal entry under Operation Allies Welcome following the American military’s withdrawal from his homeland.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has since announced that it will stop processing all immigration requests from Afghans “indefinitely” and “effective immediately.”
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Key Points
- One of two National Guardsmen wounded in DC identified by former high school
- Donald Trump describes shooting as a 'crime against humanity'
- Suspect’s asylum application was granted by Trump administration in April, CNN reports
- All asylum requests from Afghan nationals stopped 'indefinitely' following attack
- Who is suspected shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal?
Afghan advocacy group condemns shooting in DC
Advocacy group AfghanEvac has condemned the attack in Washington D.C. but warned that the incident should not be used to “isolate or harm” Afghans who have resettled in the U.S.
“We reject and condemn anyone who uses, or seeks to use, violence, and we stand with every American who is horrified and saddened by this crime,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based group.
In a statement shared online he said that the perpetrator should face “full accountability and prosecution under the law” and that “this individual’s isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community.”
“Those who would twist this moment to attack Afghan families aren’t seeking safety or justice – they’re exploiting division and endangering all of us,” he said.
VanDiver added Afghan immigrants and wartime allies who resettle in the U.S. undergo extensive security vetting.
Joe Sommerlad27 November 2025 12:20Shooter took weapon from one of two fallen National Guards before being shot down by third
A few more details on precisely what happened at the Metro station here from CBS News’s Jennifer Jacobs, who reports that the attacker discharged all four shots from his own gun at the two Guards before taking one of the downed officer’s weapons and continuing firing, until he was taken out by a third Guard.
Joe Sommerlad27 November 2025 12:00Watch: Pete Hegseth says 500 more National Guardsmen will be ordered to DC
This is what the secretary of war had to say in response to yesterday’s attack.
Pete Hegseth responds to shooting by confirming 500 more National Guardsmen will be ordered to DCJoe Sommerlad27 November 2025 11:40In pictures: D.C. reels from attack on National Guard
Here are some of the key images from the shocking incident in the U.S. capital on the eve of Thanksgiving.
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(AP)Joe Sommerlad27 November 2025 11:20Who is suspected shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal?
The Department of Homeland Security has taken an Afghan national into custody over yesterday’s shooting, with the suspect since identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old who has been living in Washington state since 2021 and had no known criminal history prior to yesterday’s incident.
He is understood to have entered the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program to resettle thousands of Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan and feared reprisals from Taliban forces once they retook control of their homeland after the American withdrawal four years ago.
However, as we saw earlier, CNN is reporting that Lakanwal submitted a new asylum application in December 2024 that was granted by the Trump administration in April this year.
NBC News has meanwhile reported that he served in the Afghan army for 10 years, served alongside U.S. Special Forces and was stationed in Kandahar for part of that time.
The shooter appears to have acted alone, officials have said, and the FBI’s joint terrorism task force is currently investigating what drove him to open fire in what officials called an “ambush” attack on Thanksgiving eve.
Here’s Rachel Dobkin and Alex Croft with everything we know about Wednesday’s events.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal: Who is the suspect in Washington DC National Guard shooting?
A 29-year-old Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been named in US media as the suepect of the attackJoe Sommerlad27 November 2025 11:00West Virginia Governor provides update on victims’ condition
Gov. Patrick Morrisey initially announced on X yesterday that the two Guardsmen shot in D.C. had died of their injuries, before subsequently issuing a follow-up post saying he had received “conflicting reports” about their wellbeing.
This is the last we heard from him, speaking to Charlie Hurt on Fox News.
Joe Sommerlad27 November 2025 10:40Homeland Security Secretary lashes out at ‘depraved’ shooter
Here’s some more official reaction to Wednesday’s attack from Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and others.
Joe Sommerlad27 November 2025 10:20All asylum requests from Afghan nationals stopped ‘indefinitely’ and ‘effective immediately’ following attack
This is the announcement posted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services overnight declaring that it is halting the processing of all asylum requests from Afghan nationals “indefinitely” and “effective immediately” in response to yesterday’s atrocity.
Alex Croft has this report.
Trump suspends all Afghan immigration requests after National Guard shooting in DC
The president had called for authorities to re-examine Afghan immigrants who entered the country during the Biden administrationJoe Sommerlad27 November 2025 10:00Trump veers into Islamophobic attack on Minnesota’s Somali community in DC shooting speech
The president was understandably upset last night but veered off into an Islamophobic attack on Somali Muslims in Minnesota, accusing the community of “ripping off our country and ripping apart that once great state,” which is neither true nor relevant to Wednesday’s incident in Washington.
Joe Sommerlad27 November 2025 09:40Suspect’s asylum application was granted by Trump administration in April, CNN reports
While Trump and Vice President JD Vance have been quick to blame Biden for allowing suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal to come to America under Operation Allies Welcome following the U.S military’s withdrawal from his homeland, his asylum application was actually approved by the Trump administration in April this year, according to CNN.
That important detail is reportedly going unmentioned on Fox News, according to this avid viewer of the conservative cable news channel.
Joe Sommerlad27 November 2025 09:20Newer1 / 5Older
