The suspect in custody after the shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House is an Afghan national who entered into the U.S. only four years ago, according to a CBS News report.
A massive law enforcement response followed the shooting in Washington, D.C. Initially the troops were reported as having died from their injuries, but the FBI later said they were hospitalized in critical condition.
‘The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price.’
Multiple law enforcement sources said the suspect was identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, according to CBS. He also reportedly entered the U.S. on a Biden administration program called Operation Allies Welcome after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News that he used a handgun in the attack.
Reporter Julio Rosas also confirmed the details.
A White House correspondent for NTD News said she and her cameraman witnessed the incident just before 2:15 p.m.
“National Guard shot near the White House. … I was in an Uber to work, with my cameraman, and heard multiple shots fired as we passed Farragut West,” Mari Otsu wrote on social media.
“A member of the National Guard fell while others rushed onto the scene,” she added, with a video included. “Area still on lockdown and Secret Service being deployed.”
President Donald Trump issued a statement about the incident from his Truth Social account.
“The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price,” he wrote. “God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement.”
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Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP via Getty Images
Dept. of War Sec. Pete Hegseth said that 500 additional National Guard troops were going to be sent to D.C. in light of the shooting.
“This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful. The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic,” Hegseth said to reporters in the Dominican Republic.
“But if criminals want to conduct things like this, violence against America’s best, we will never back down,” he added. “President Trump will never back down. That’s why the American people elected him.”
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