WASHINGTON, USA – The FBI searched multiple properties in Washington state and San Diego on Thursday in what officials said was a terrorism probe into an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard members, who remained in critical condition.
Investigators seized numerous electronic devices from the suspect’s house in Washington state, including cellphones, laptops, and iPads, and interviewed the suspect’s relatives, officials told a news conference in Washington, D.C.
The two wounded Guard members were identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24.
The suspect ambushed the Guard members while they were patrolling near the White House on Wednesday afternoon. Armed with a powerful revolver, a .357 Magnum, he shot one member who fell and then shot again before firing multiple times at the second member.
Suspect worked with US Forces in Afghanistan
The U.S. government planned to bring terrorism charges against the gunman and seek a sentence of life in prison “at a minimum.”
The gunman faces three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and a charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
He could be charged with murder in the first degree if either of the Guard members does not survive their injuries.
The shootings were described as a “heinous act of terrorism,” but no possible motive was offered.
The assailant appeared to have acted alone, according to police officials.
The suspect has been identified by authorities as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who lived in Washington state with his wife and five children.
Lakanwal, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire before he was arrested, had been involved with U.S. partner forces during the war in Afghanistan.
Lakanwal had worked with CIA-backed local units in Afghanistan.
“He drove his vehicle cross-country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital,” officials told the news conference.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a program to resettle thousands of Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the Afghanistan war and feared reprisals from Taliban forces who seized control after the U.S. withdrawal there.
The president released a video statement calling the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.”
It was unclear if the shooting would lead to changes to how the Guard operates in cities. Members typically patrol in small groups, including on foot, mostly armed with pistols.
Lakanwal approved for US asylum this year
The administration would “re-examine” all Afghans who came to the U.S. during the previous presidency.
Some officials blamed the previous administration for improperly vetting Lakanwal, although they offered no evidence to support this assertion.
An official said Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23 this year. Lakanwal, who resided in Washington state, had no known criminal history.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it had halted processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely, “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
Immigration policy defended
The vice president said on social media that the shooting proved the administration’s immigration policy was justified.
“We must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country,” he said.
Critics of the administration’s immigration policy say it has employed harsh and illegal tactics and swept up immigrants indiscriminately, including many with no criminal history and others in the U.S. legally.
The two Guard members from West Virginia were part of a militarized law enforcement mission ordered in August and challenged in court by Washington, D.C., officials. Additional troops were deployed to the capital in the wake of the shooting, joining about 2,200 already in the city as part of immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities.
Some have suggested repeatedly that crime has disappeared from the capital as a result of the deployment, an assertion at odds with the police department’s official crime statistics.
