Two West Virginia National Guard members have been shot in Washington DC in what President Donald Trump has described as a "heinous assault" and "crime against humanity."
Trump's Strong Condemnation and Policy Response
In a late-night address to the nation on Wednesday, President Trump delivered inflammatory remarks about the attack, confirming that the suspect in custody is believed to be a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States in September 2021.
"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 stated from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where he has been monitoring the situation during the Thanksgiving holiday.
The President specifically referenced Operation Allies Welcome - the Biden administration's programme to resettle vulnerable Afghans following the withdrawal of US troops - claiming the suspect was "flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021 for those infamous flights that everybody was talking about."
Immediate Immigration Policy Changes
In response to the shooting, US Citizenship and Immigration Services has halted all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely. The measures were announced as "effective immediately" on Wednesday evening, pending further review of security and vetting protocols.
Trump called for a reexamination of "every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden" and promised that "all necessary measures" would be taken to remove those who "do not belong or add benefit to our country."
Suspect Background and Family Reaction
The suspect has been identified by multiple outlets as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who had been living in Washington state after arriving in the country during the 2021 evacuation.
According to NBC News, a relative of Lakanwal revealed that he had served in the Afghan Army for ten years and worked alongside US Special Forces troops in Afghanistan before coming to America. The relative expressed disbelief at the allegations, stating: "We were the ones that were targeted by the Taliban in Afghanistan. I cannot believe it that he might do this."
Investigators have recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the attack and are working to determine how the suspect obtained it, given US laws restricting firearm sales to non-citizens and non-legal permanent residents.
Military and Advocacy Group Responses
Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Steven Nordhaus, announced he would travel from Guantanamo Bay to Washington DC to be with guardsmen affected by what he called a "senseless act of violence."
Meanwhile, advocacy group AfghanEvac condemned the attack but warned against using the incident to target the broader Afghan community in America. Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based organisation, stated: "This individual's isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community."
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem echoed Trump's criticism of the Biden administration, describing the suspect as "one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States" under Operation Allies Welcome.
The investigation continues as authorities work to establish the motive behind the attack and the circumstances that led to this violent incident in the nation's capital.
