In a shocking incident that has ignited a fierce national security debate, two National Guardsmen stationed near the White House were critically wounded in an apparent targeted shooting. The suspected gunman, identified by law enforcement as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who was granted asylum in the United States earlier this year.
The attack, which the FBI is investigating as a potential act of international terrorism, has prompted immediate political fallout and a sweeping reevaluation of the vetting processes for Afghan immigrants who arrived under the previous administration.
The Suspect’s Path to Asylum in the United States
Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s journey to the United States began in 2021 when he arrived from Afghanistan under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, a program designed to resettle vulnerable Afghans. According to multiple law enforcement sources, Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024, and his application was approved in April 2025, a few months into the current Trump administration.
This timeline means his asylum status was granted under the present government. A former landlord from Bellingham, Washington, confirmed that Lakanwal relocated there with his wife and five children. Some reports from relatives suggest he had previously served alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a detail that may have been a factor in his resettlement and asylum case.
The affirmative asylum process in the U.S., as outlined by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), requires applicants to be physically present in the country and to file their application within one year of arrival. Applicants must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
🚨MAJOR BREAKING: MAGA is stunned into silence as officials confirm the National Guard shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. in 2021 and was vetted and granted LEGAL ASYLUM by the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION in April 2025.
Their entire narrative just collapsed. pic.twitter.com/xRQVEbGv9W
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) November 27, 2025
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Furthermore, applicants are subject to rigorous background and security checks, which include fingerprinting and an in-person interview with an asylum officer. The process also involves scrutiny under the Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds (TRIG), which can bar individuals with certain affiliations, though exemptions exist for those who acted under duress or in support of U.S. interests.
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A Targeted Attack and Its Immediate Aftermath
The violent event unfolded at around 2:15 p.m. on November 26 near the Farragut West Metro station, just steps from the White House. Assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department Jeffery Carroll described a sudden ambush, stating the suspect “came around the corner and immediately began firing at the Guard members.”
The two Guardsmen, a man and a woman deployed from West Virginia, were conducting “high visibility patrols” as part of a larger National Guard presence in the capital. Following the initial shots, other Guardsmen in the area returned fire, subdued the suspect, and held him for law enforcement. All three individuals—the two Guardsmen and Rahmanullah Lakanwal—were transported to area hospitals in critical condition.
The motive behind the shooting is not yet known, but Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser stated the individual “appeared to target” the Guard members. The FBI is currently investigating the shooting as a potential act of international terrorism, exploring whether the attack may have been inspired by a foreign terrorist organization. In a national address, President Donald Trump condemned the “monstrous, ambush-style attack” as a “heinous assault” and an “act of terror.”
He announced a reexamination of “every single alien from Afghanistan who has entered our country under Biden,” a policy shift that began even before the shooting. That very evening, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it had indefinitely stopped processing all immigration cases related to Afghan nationals pending further review.
