In a shocking tragedy, two National Guard troops were shot just blocks away from the White House on Wednesday (US time). The two soldiers impacted in the hit remained in critical condition in hospital, the Associated Press cited a law enforcement official.
According to Metro Police Department executive assistant chief Jeffery Carroll’s remarks at a press conference, the gunman passed the corner and 17th and I Streets outside the Farragut West Metro Station in Northwest DC around 2:15 pm. He then attacked the National Guard members in an “ambush”-style firing. Law enforcement said the scene was later secured.
UPDATE: The shooting suspect has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, multiple US news outlets cited law enforcement officials.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal: White House National Guard shooting suspect in custody
The DC Police eventually revealed that a “suspect is in custody” after the National Guard attack was reported. The assistant chief of Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department further disclosed that other guard troops had detained the suspect, who was being treated at a local hospital, as he was shot as well.
Video analysis of the shooting scene in Washington DC indicated that a “lone gunman” was at work on Wednesday, Carroll said during a news conference. As of now, no motive for the attack has been determined.
Meanwhile, law enforcement official has since also told NBC News, the suspected gunman “has been initially identified as an Afghan national.” CBS News and CNN also backed the same reportage, noting that Lakanwal is 29 years old, and he entered the US in 2021.
Fox News and CNN have since also cited sources, suggesting that the suspected National Guard shooter was an “illegal immigrant” from Afghanistan. He is claimed to have come to the US under Joe Biden’s ‘Operation Allies Welcome,’ and reportedly ended up overstaying his visa.
Officials briefed on the ongoing development told the news outlet that FBI is heading the investigation, with the “ambush” attack on two National Guard members being treated as a possible act of terrorism.
On the other side, law enforcement source told the New York Post that the DC shooting suspect, while yet to be identified, was shot four times himself.
Trump on National Guard attack near White House
US President Donald Trump was not in Washington DC at the time of the attack. He spent his 19th day at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday as per the Guardian. The White House later revealed that the MAGA leader had been briefed about the shooting.
Subsequently addressing the issue in a TruthSocial post, he called out the suspected shooter an “animal,” warning he “will pay a very steep price.” Additionally, he told his SNS followers that while the soldiers had been “critically wounded,” the suspect was also “severely wounded.”
West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey initially suggested that the two soldiers shot in Washington DC has died.
He later retracted his statement, writing on social media, “We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information. Our prayers are with these brave service members, their families, and the entire Guard community.”
Vice President JD Vance, who also not in DC at the time of the Washington DC shooting, spoke out about it while he was at the army base Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
“We’re still learning everything. We still don’t know the motive. There’s a lot that we haven’t yet figured out, but what we do know is that a couple of national guardsmen were injured in the line of duty,” he said. “I think it’s a somber reminder that soldiers, whether they’re active duty, reserve or national guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America.”
Pete Hegseth, US Defence Secretary, on the other hand, told reporters that he was deploying 500 more National Guard troops to Washington DC at the request of the US president. He asserted that the gunman was “targeting national guardsmen.”
This is an ongoing investigation.