Two National Guardsmen who were shot in downtown Washington, DC, on Wednesday and are still in critical condition, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser and FBI Director Kash Patel. The mayor called the attack a “targeted shooting” in a post on X and said the two soldiers were members of the West Virginia National Guard.
A DC police official said at the news conference that the guardsmen were doing “high visibility patrols” when a suspect showed up, “raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard.”
Law enforcement officials have revealed that the suspected gunman to be Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan citizen who arrived in the US in September 2021 and had been living in Washington state.
Washington DC shooting: How the attack unfolded?
A statement from Joint Task Force DC, which oversees National Guard operations in the capital, said the attack happened around 14:15 EST (17:15 GMT) on Wednesday near the Farragut Square Metro Station.
Jeffrey Carroll from the DC police said the suspect walked around a corner, lifted the gun, and shot both soldiers. He said other National Guard members nearby heard the gunfire and, after a brief struggle, managed to pin the suspect to the ground before he was taken into custody.
The soldiers were on a high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th and I streets, a busy area where many office workers go for lunch.
The suspect, who has been identified as an Afghan national was shot during the process and was hence, taken to hospital. He is still receiving treatment.
Because of the attack, the White House was briefly put on lockdown, and flights at the city’s main airport were halted for a short time on the day before Thanksgiving. US President Donald Trump, who was in Florida during the incident, said the attacker would “pay a very steep price.”
Shooting aftermath: Suspect tackled, CPR administered to injured soldiers – Eyewitness account
Video footage shows police giving CPR to a National Guardsman lying on the ground beside a broken bus stop at the corner of 17th and I Street NW in Washington, DC. The camera then moves to what seems to be another National Guardsman on the ground, surrounded by officers.
Patrick, who recorded the video and does not want his last name made public, said he was about to enter the Bottom Line bar on I Street at around 2:10 pm when he heard several loud bangs, reported CNN. He first thought it was construction noise, but then noticed people running toward him on the street. When he asked what was happening, someone told him there was a shooting at the intersection of 17th and I Street NW.
At first, he wasn’t sure it was true because the area didn’t look very chaotic. But after a short pause, he heard another burst of gunfire. He quickly took cover in an alley for about two minutes.
He described the shots as heavy and loud. He couldn’t tell if it was a rifle or a handgun, but said it sounded like a large-caliber weapon.
When the shooting stopped, he walked to the intersection and saw two National Guardsmen and another person lying on the ground. He said people were giving CPR to one of the guardsmen, while the other had blood near his head. Patrick believed the guardsman with head injuries was still alive because he could see him moving his arm and trying to roll over.
Watch video here:
Ryaan Aqid, one of the witnesses of the shooting, told CNN that he likely crossed paths with the two National Guardsmen just before the suspect opened fire. “I heard two shots, then I heard four shots consecutively,” he said.
Another witness told the BBC that he too heard two gunshots, then three more followed. He described the scene as chaotic and said that people began running in fear, with some rushing into a liquor store to hide.
