Kristi Noem Says National Guard Shooter Was 'Radical...

By Peter Aitken

Politics Weekend Editor

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday during an interview appearance on NBC News' Meet the Press that 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the alleged shooter of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., was likely "radicalized" after entering the United States.

Noem also laid the blame for his entry and vetting on the Biden administration despite the current Trump administration approving his asylum application earlier this year.

"The vetting process...happens when the person comes into the country," Noem told host Kristen Welker on Sunday, later adding, "I will say we believe he was radicalized since he's been here in this country. We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state and we're going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him."

Newsweek reached out to DHS by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday morning for comment.

Why It Matters

Lakanwal allegedly drove across the country from Washington state to Washington, D.C., and shot National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sergeant Adam Wolfe, 24, on Wednesday before other Guard members wounded and apprehended him. Both the victims and the suspect went to the hospital in critical condition, with Beckstrom ultimately passing away due to her injuries while Wolfe is "fighting for his life," according to officials.

The National Counterterrorism Center and CIA vetted Lakanwal before allowing him to cooperate with American forces, according to Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin who added that Lakanwal was determined to have no ties to any terrorist groups, and his CIA ID would have put him in the "vetted" category during evacuations from Afghanistan.

Lakanwal worked with the U.S. government and the CIA during American military operations in Afghanistan prior to the military drawdown from the country. Then-President Joe Biden admitted over 88,000 Afghans into the U.S. through Operation Allies Welcome, which provided a path into the U.S. for vulnerable Afghan allies who had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomatic missions between 2001 and 2021.

Lakanwal therefore entered the U.S. in 2021, but only applied for asylum in late 2024, and his application approved in April of this year by the Trump administration.

The shooting and Beckstrom’s subsequent death prompted a strong response from the White House, including a freeze on all immigration requests for Afghan nationals and visas for any Afghan passport holders.

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What To Know

On Sunday, Noem blamed the shooting on the Biden administration for admitting Lakanwal, insisting that any vetting would have taken place when he entered the country through Operation Allies Welcome.

When asked by Welker if that means the Trump administration didn't perform any vetting process to approve Lakanwal's asylum application, Noem said the process occurred under the Biden administration.

"Joe Biden completely did not vet any of these individuals, did not vet this individual," the DHS secretary said. "[He] waited until he got into the United States, and then that application for asylum was opened under the Joe Biden administration when he was the president in the White House and allowed that to go forward with the information that they provided. That's the Biden administration's responsibility. This is the consequences of the dangerous situation he put our country in when he allowed those people to infiltrate our country during that abandonment of Afghanistan."

However, in explaining what goes into a vetting process for a foreign national, she highlighted elements that would have proven highly difficult to obtain or perform during that time due to the instability in Afghanistan and the fractious relationship between the U.S. and Taliban who took power as the U.S. left the country.

"To do a good job of vetting people, you need to have cooperation of that government that is from their country," Noem said. "You have to have a stable government that will give you information, contacts, background information, and biometrics that you may need to identify that individual, their dates of service. All of that vetting information was collected by Joe Biden's administration, that was used in the process."

The Trump administration has expanded on those parameters, adding social media content and biometric data to the overall picture of an individual during the vetting process.

But during the few years he has lived in the U.S., Noem said she believes Lakanwal may have been radicalized "through connections in his home community and state."

"We're going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members, who talked to them...So far we've had some participation," she said. "But anyone who has information on this needs to know that we will be coming after you, and we will bring you to justice."

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: "Crooked Joe Biden, Mayorkas, and so-called 'Border Czar' Kamala Harris really screwed our Country by letting anyone and everyone come in totally unchecked and unvetted!"

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X on Sunday: "Under President Trump, we are putting the American people, our safety and national security FIRST. We are putting an end to idiotic policies that allowed millions of illegal aliens and hundreds of thousands of foreigners into our country unvetted. We are pausing asylum decisions until further notice and DHS is overseeing a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from all 19 high-risk countries of concern."