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The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting was earlier identified by multiple outlets as a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the country in September 2021
Katie Hawkinson,Mike BediganThursday 27 November 2025 04:30 GMT
CloseTwo West Virginia National Guard members shot in Washington DC
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Donald Trump condemned the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington D.C., as a “heinous assault” and a “crime against humanity” in a late-night address to the nation Wednesday.
“The Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth,” Trump said in the inflammatory remarks.
“He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021 for those infamous flights that everybody was talking about,” he added, seemingly referring to Operation Allies Welcome – which helped resettle vulnerable Afghans in America following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the the territory.
Trump then called for a reexamination of “every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” adding that “all necessary measures” would be taken to remove those who “do not belong or add benefit to our country.”
The suspect in the shooting was earlier identified by multiple outlets as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the country in September 2021 and had been living in Washington state.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services later announced that it has halted the processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals “indefinitely” and “effective immediately.”
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Key Points
- Trump describes DC shooting as a 'crime against humanity'
- All immigration requests for Afghan nationals stopped 'indefinitely' following DC shooting
- More information emerges on DC shooter
- National Guard members were 'targeted,' mayor says
- Pictures show chaotic scene in aftermath of shooting near White House
Stephen Miller vows to deport people of 'whatever status' if they add no benefit to US
Senior White House advisor Stephen Miller vowed that the administration would “send out” anyone who did not “add benefit” to the U.S. regardless of their refugee or asylum status.
“[Trump’s] government is going to accelerate efforts to review every person added to this country over the last four years, all 20 million,” Miller told Fox News.
“Obviously, if you're an illegal you're out automatically, but everybody else who was brought here, refugee, asylum status, whatever status, as he said, if you're not someone who loves this country, if you are not adding benefit to this country we're going to send you out.”
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 04:30DC shooting suspect may have arrived in US during Operation Allies Welcome
In his remarks Wednesday night Donald Trump said the Homeland Security Department is “confident” that the suspect was from Afghanistan, which the president described as “a hellhole on Earth.”
“He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021 for those infamous flights that everybody was talking about. Nobody knew who was coming in,” Trump said.
The president was seemingly referring to Operation Allies Welcome. In August 2021, then-President Joe Biden directed the Homeland Security Department to lead efforts in support of the operation, which worked to help resettle vulnerable Afghans in the U.S.
A relative of Rahmanullah Lakanwal told NBC News that he had come to America after serving in the Afghan Army for 10 years.
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 04:15Trump rips suspected DC shooter who left two National Guard members hurt in ‘monstrous ambush-style attack’
Donald Trump ripped into the suspect who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon in what the president called a “monstrous ambush-style attack.”
Trump, who has been in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, said in an address Wednesday night, “I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.”
Rachel Dobkin recaps everything we know about the attack so far:
Everything we know about suspected DC shooter as suspect goes into custody
The White House went on lockdown after the shooting, with President Trump monitoring the situation from his Mar-a-Lago club in FloridaMike Bedigan27 November 2025 04:00Chief of the National Guard Bureau to travel to DC as he continues to 'defend and protect our fellow citizens'
Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Steven Nordhaus, said in a video posted to X that he and his senior enlisted advisor, John Raines, will travel from Guantanamo Bay to Washington, D.C., to be with guardsmen struck by Wednesday’s tragic shooting.
“The chief and I were planning to spend Thanksgiving with our Guard and joint force troops here in Guantanamo Bay, but we’re returning to Washington, D.C., to be with our guardsmen there who continue to protect the capital city,” Raines said.
Nordhaus added: “We are devastated by this senseless act of violence, and we will remain on station to defend and protect our fellow citizens at home and abroad.”
Rachel Dobkin27 November 2025 03:50Afghan advocacy group condemns shooting in DC
Advocacy group AfghanEvac has condemned the attack in Washington D.C. but warned that the incident should not be used to “isolate or harm” Afghans who have resettled in the U.S.
“We reject and condemn anyone who uses, or seeks to use, violence, and we stand with every American who is horrified and saddened by this crime,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based group.
In a statement shared online he said that the perpetrator should face “full accountability and prosecution under the law” and that “this individual’s isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community.”
“Those who would twist this moment to attack Afghan families aren’t seeking safety or justice — they’re exploiting division and endangering all of us,” he said.
VanDiver added Afghan immigrants and wartime allies who resettle in the U.S. undergo extensive security vetting.
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 03:40Gun believed to have been used in shooting recovered from the scene
CNN reports that a handgun that is believed to have been used in the attack on the National Guard members has been recovered from the scene of Wednesday’s shooting in the Capitol.
Investigators are now working to determine when and how the suspect obtained it.
U.S. law restricts firearms sales to people who aren’t citizens or legal permanent residents.
It is unclear how the suspect, now identified as an Afghan national who entered the country in 2021, could have obtained it.
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 03:30All immigration requests for Afghan nationals stopped 'indefinitely' following DC shooting
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it has halted the processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals “indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
The measures were “effective immediately,” the USCIS wrote on X Wednesday evening.
“The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 03:26Watch: Trump's full remarks on DC shooting
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 03:22Kristi Noem echoes Trump's remarks blaming Biden for DC shooting
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem echoed the president’s remarks blaming the Biden administration for Wednesday’s attack in Washington D.C.
“The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration,” Noem wrote on X.
“I will not utter this depraved individual’s name. He should be starved of the glory he so desperately wants.”
She added: “The politicians and media who continue to vilify our men and women in uniform need to take a long hard look in the mirror.”
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 03:17DC shooting suspect's relative in disbelief over attack
A close relative of suspected D.C. shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who served with him in Afghanistan, expressed disbelief over Wednesday’s ttack.
“We were the ones that were targeted by the Taliban in Afghanistan,” the relative told NBC News Wednesday. “I cannot believe it that he might do this,” he said.
Lakanwal grew up in Khost Province, the relative said, adding that he has a wife and five boys.
The two had not spoken in several months.
“I don’t know what happened. I need your help to know why this happened,” the relative added, before reportedly breaking down in tears.
Mike Bedigan27 November 2025 03:09Newer1 / 5Older
