A 29-year-old Afghan national opened fire at the National Guard in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, 26 November, hitting two victims. The shooting took place in the immediate vicinity of the White House.
According to the New York Post, the gunman has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who himself was struck by return fire from a third Guard at the scene, and is now being treated in critical condition.
One of his victims has also been identified. West Virginia National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe is currently in critical condition but still alive. Only the second victim’s gender, but not her name, has been revealed in the press so far, with reports of a National Guardswoman being struck in the chest and head by the attacker. It is also unclear whether or not she is still alive based on the latest news, although gunshots to the head, evidently, are in most cases fatal.
The tragedy prompted President Donald Trump to return to the social media platform X after months, where he posted a screenshot of his message originally published on his own platform, Truth Social.
‘The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a steep price. God bless our Great National Guard, and all our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People. I, as the President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!’ the President wrote.
The New York Post also reports that the perpetrator entered the United States through President Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome programme after the withdrawal of the US Military from Afghanistan in September 2021, which granted settlement to Afghan citizens who aided American armed forces during the occupation. This reignited the debate over better control of legal immigration, not just illegal migration.
In response, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is stopping the processing of all immigration cases related to Afghanistan. President Trump has also ordered a review of all nationals admitted to the US under President Biden’s Afghan immigration scheme.
The Trump administration also requested the deployment of an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington, DC. It is seeking an urgent stay from a federal appeals court regarding a federal judge’s ruling that deemed the deployment of the National Guard in DC as unlawful, a ruling that was handed down just last week.
Julio Rosas on X has claims that he has been told by law enforcement sources that the perp shouted ‘Allahu Akhbar’ while opening fire at the National Guard. If that information is correct, the most likely motive for the killer is radical Islamic terrorism.
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