National Guard Shooting Suspect Identified

The suspect behind the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, DC, on Wednesday has been identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, according to NBC News. 

Lakanwal, who reportedly served alongside US troops in Afghanistan, drove from Washington State across the country to ambush National Guard soldiers just blocks away from the White House. Officials say it was a targeted attack.

The Afghan national shot West Virginia National Guard soldiers Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24. 

"One guardsman is struck, goes down, and then the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman again. Another guardsman is struck several times," said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Both American troops are in critical condition. 

In response to the attack, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that he will add an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington, DC. 

"If criminals want to conduct things like this — violence against America's best — we will NEVER back down," Hegseth said. 

Lakanwal came to the United States during former President Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and settled in Bellingham, Washington. 

“America will never bend and never yield in the face of terror, and at the same time, we will not be deterred from the mission these service members were so nobly fulfilling,” Trump said in an emergency address following the attack.