Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Lakanwal’s immigration status.
(NewsNation) — Senior law enforcement officials have identified the suspect in the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., as an Afghan national.
FBI agents named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, as the suspect. Law enforcement officials added that Lakanwal allegedly used a handgun in the shooting.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said Thursday that the he drove across the country to launch an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. The suspect currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, she said, adding that they could be upgraded.
President Trump on Thursday announced one of the Guard members, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, had died, while the second, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was “fighting for his life.”
Pirro said, “It’s too soon to say” what the suspect’s motives were.
At 2:15 ET, the two members were on patrol near 17th and I Street Northwest when a suspect discharged a firearm at them, coming around a corner. Other Guard members were able to subdue a suspect and detain them as more law enforcement arrived.
Officials say there is no indication other individuals were involved. The service members who were shot were armed, officials said, and whether they were able to fire their weapons is part of the investigation.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal came to US in 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 as part of the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He was granted asylum this year by the Trump administration.
Trump told reporters this week he never should have been in the country to initiate the asylum process in the first place.
“When it comes to asylum, when they’re flown in, it’s very hard to get them out,” Trump said.
Lakanwal’s last known location was Bellingham, Washington.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal had been parolled: DHS
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to NewsNation on Thursday that Lakanwal had been granted asylum.
She said he was initially paroled under the Biden Administration. Afterward, Biden signed the law authorizing that parole program and later entered into the 2023 Ahmed Court Settlement, which required U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process his asylum claim on an expedited timeline.
McLaughlin added that, regardless of whether his asylum was approved, Lakanwal would not have been removed from the U.S. because his parole status prevented it.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal served alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan
A close relative of Lakanwal stated the 29-year-old served alongside U.S. Special Forces troops in Afghanistan.
Lakanwal was stationed at a base in Kandahar for part of his service.
He came to the U.S. after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan and eventually settled in Washington.
What is Operation Allies Welcome?
Operations Allies Welcome was an effort in 2021 led by the Department of Homeland Security to support vulnerable Afghans.
The operation included aiding those who worked alongside Americans in Afghanistan for the past two decades, as they safely resettle in the United States.
Only a fraction of the evacuees were protected under Temporary Protected Status. The Biden administration initially designated Afghanistan for TPS in May 2022 and extended it in September 2023.
The Trump administration announced the termination of the status in May, saying Afghanistan was safe enough for return.
500 more National Guard being deployed to DC after shooting
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that 500 more National Guard troops will be deployed to D.C. after the shooting.
“That’s why President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the secretary of the Army to the National Guard to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen, to Washington, D.C.,” Hegseth told reporters Wednesday during a trip to the Dominican Republic.
U.S. officials confirmed to NewsNation that the FBI will initially investigate the shooting as a possible act of terrorism.
“The FBI is preliminarily investigating this as an act of terrorism, but is not ruling out other possibilities if that is where the investigation takes them,” officials said.