President Trump called the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., an “act of terror,” and pledged to bring the suspect, a 29-year-old Afghan national, to justice.
In a televised address on Wednesday night, Trump said the suspect came to the U.S. during the Biden administration, and he directed his administration to review all Afghans who entered the country while President Joe Biden was in office. The Department of Homeland Security said the suspect entered the U.S. in 2021.
“We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country, who does not belong here or add benefit to our country. If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” Trump said.
Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal ambushed the National Guard members near the White House on Wednesday afternoon, according to law-enforcement officials. The National Guard members remain in critical condition, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Trump called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.” He added, “We will make America totally safe, and we will bring the perpetrator of this barbaric attack to swift and certain justice, if the bullets going in the opposite direction haven’t already done that.”
Later on Wednesday night, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said on X that it is stopping the processing of all immigration requests of Afghan nationals “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
Police believe a single shooter was responsible for the attack, Metropolitan Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters. The National Guard members were on patrol when the shooter allegedly came from around a corner and opened fire, he said.
“It appears to be a lone gunman that raised a firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard,” Carroll said.
Law enforcement shot the suspect, and he is in the hospital in police custody.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser characterized the attack as a “targeted shooting.”
The incident originated near the Farragut West Metro stop, according to a U.S. Secret Service official, who said that the White House didn’t appear to be a target.
The National Guard members were part of the contingent of troops deployed to Washington on Trump’s orders over the summer to support law enforcement.
Some 2,200 National Guardsmen have been deployed in the capital, including 925 members of the Washington, D.C. forces and more than 1,200 from other states. The district’s elected attorney general had sued over their presence, which was ordered by Trump as part of an effort his administration dubbed “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful.”
Earlier on Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey initially said in a post on X that both individuals, members of the state’s contingent, had died, before writing another message saying that there had been conflicting reports about their condition.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the two National Guard members had been taken to separate local hospitals and that a suspect “is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price.”
Trump is in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, and wasn’t at the White House at the time of the shooting.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he would send an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., at the request of the president.
On Wednesday afternoon, there was a heavy law enforcement presence with yellow police tape closing off a park at Farragut Square and apparently a nearby Metro stop. The shooting occurred near what is typically a busy intersection in Washington’s downtown, blocks away from the White House. The area isn’t residential and is generally made up of office buildings.
Law enforcement on the scene included U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Park Police and Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police. National Guardsmen were in the park that has been closed off. A helicopter was circling overhead.
The White House was on lockdown on Wednesday afternoon, according to an administration official. The Treasury Department’s headquarters, which is next to the White House, was also under lockdown.
A federal judge last week ruled that the National Guard’s mobilization in Washington, D.C., which began in August, violated several laws. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb delayed implementation of her ruling until Dec. 11 so the administration could appeal.
A different federal judge ordered the city and the White House to come to an agreement over control of the city’s police force in mid-August, with the Trump administration stepping back from efforts to take over the Metropolitan Police Department.
