US pursuing terror probe against shooter of Guard troops in DC

Josh Wingrove, María Paula Mijares Torres, Bloomberg News on Nov 27, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The U.S. government is conducting a terrorism investigation into a suspect who shot two National Guard troops in Washington, DC, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a news conference Thursday.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for DC, said the suspect, a 29-year-old Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, drove across the country from his home near Bellingham, Washington, to carry out a “brazen and targeted” attack.

The suspect was allowed into the U.S. in part because of his work with the U.S. government, including the CIA, in Afghanistan, according to a statement by CIA director John Ratcliffe.

Pirro said Lakanwal is currently facing three charges of intent to kill while armed. Attorney General Pam Bondi said separately that the U.S. plans to charge him with terrorism and seek life in prison.

Bondi added that the final charges will depend in part on whether either of the Guard soldiers die, in which case the administration would try to seek the death penalty.

“The most important thing you can do today is pray,” she said Thursday on Fox News.

Patel said the FBI conducted searches overnight at Lakanwal’s house in Washington state, along with an additional site in San Diego.

The two members of the West Virginia National Guard were on patrol Wednesday just blocks from the White House when they were critically wounded. The victims were identified by Pirro as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, who is 24. A gunman was taken into custody after another guardsman returned fire and moved in to stop him, officials said.

Bondi said the two shooting victims had gone through surgeries but provided no further details on their condition. She added that the female Guard member had volunteered to work during the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I’m not going to talk about their conditions right now. I know their families are with them,” Bondi said.

Several hundred Guard troops have been patrolling downtown Washington in a high-profile deployment ordered by President Donald Trump. A federal judge recently ruled that the deployment was likely illegal — though guardsmen were not required to leave the District immediately to allow time for appeal.

The administration said earlier it is halting all immigration cases involving Afghan nationals “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.” Bondi called the shooting suspect a “monster who should not have been in our country.”

Trump, in a video address recorded and released Wednesday evening in Florida, said the U.S. “must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden.” He ordered 500 more National Guard troops into Washington.

_____

With assistance from Alexander Pearson and Myles Miller.

_____