FBI Probes Motive Behind ‘Ambush-Style’ Shooting of National Guardsmen Near the White House

The FBI is investigating the motive behind what authorities described as an “ambush-style” shooting of two National Guard soldiers just a few blocks from the White House on Thanksgiving evening. The inquiry is being led by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The two soldiers—part of a military law-enforcement deployment ordered months earlier by President Donald Trump and legally challenged by officials in the District of Columbia—were critically injured and rushed to the hospital.

The suspected gunman, who was shot and wounded before being taken into custody, has been identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.

Trump, who was at his Florida resort at the time of the attack, released a prerecorded video late Wednesday calling the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hate, and an act of terror.” He also announced that his administration will “re-vet” all Afghans who entered the U.S. during President Joe Biden’s term.

Shortly afterward, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it had paused the processing of all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals “pending a review of security and vetting protocols.”

According to DHS, Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era program designed to resettle Afghans who assisted American forces and feared Taliban retaliation after the U.S. withdrawal. While DHS declined to share further details of his immigration record, a Trump administration official—speaking on condition of anonymity—said Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23 of this year, three months after Trump took office. The 29-year-old, who lived in Washington state, reportedly had no criminal history.

The shooting unfolded outside a crowded subway station in a busy commercial district near the White House. The Secret Service briefly placed the presidential residence under security lockdown as a precaution.

In response to the attack, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the president has ordered an additional 500 National Guard soldiers to join the more than 2,000 already stationed in Washington, D.C.

Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking from Kentucky, said on X that the incident validates the administration’s immigration stance. “We must double down on efforts to deport individuals who have no right to remain in our country,” he wrote.

Critics of the administration argue that its immigration policies rely on legally questionable tactics and have resulted in the detention of immigrants without criminal records, including some who are in the country lawfully.

‘Targeted Shooting’ Outside Metro Station

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser—who has frequently clashed with Trump over National Guard deployments—told reporters shortly after the attack that it appeared to be a “targeted shooting.”

Jeff Carroll, executive assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, said the two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were conducting a “high-visibility patrol” near the station entrance when the suspect “came around the corner,” pulled out a firearm, and immediately opened fire. Other Guard members subdued the suspect moments later.

Trump announced in August that he was deploying National Guard troops to Washington to address what he described as rising crime, even as D.C. officials challenged the move in court as an encroachment on local authority.

The shooting came five days after a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment of National Guard troops for law enforcement duties in the district without the mayor’s approval—but put the order on hold until December to allow the administration’s appeal.

Trump has also sent troops to several Democratically led cities—including Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Memphis—citing unrest linked to his crackdown on illegal immigration. Local leaders have accused him of using military force as a political weapon against his opponents.