The Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members members in Washington worked with several U.S. government agencies in Afghanistan, including the CIA, according to published reports.

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Rahmanullah Lakanwal worked with a CIA-backed military unit in Kandahar.

Lakanwal, 29, came to the United States in September 2021 after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have confirmed that he arrived in the United States under a Biden-era program that allowed Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban to enter the country.

Lakanwal is accused of shooting the two guard members on Wednesday, not far from the White House, in what federal authorities described as a "targeted" attack. A motive for the shooting remains unclear.

The National Guard members were part of a "high-visibility patrol" near the White House when the suspect came around the corner and opened fire, according to Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll. After a "back-and-forth exchange," Carroll said other troops subdued and detained the shooter.

The two wounded Guard members were in critical condition at local hospitals, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey called the attack "an act of unspeakable violence."

Trump has ordered 500 additional National Guard troops to be deployed to Washington. Thousands of troops have already been deployed in the capital as part of the president's immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities.

Shooting suspected granted asylum by Trump administration in April: reports

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted that status last April under the Trump administration, multiple news outlets are reporting.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a news release that Lakanwal entered the country through Operation Allies Welcome on Sept. 8, 2021. The program was designed to allow Afghans who assisted the U.S. military and their families who were potential targets of retribution by the Taliban to enter the country after the United States pulled out. The CIA has confirmed that Lakanwal worked with American forces.

Early reporting on the day of the shooting stated that Lakanwal had overstayed a visa and was in the country illegally. An official told Reuters on Wednesday that he had entered as part of the asylum program but had overstayed visa and was living in Washington illegally.

On Thursday, CBS, ABC, The Wall Street Journal and Fox News reported that Lakanwal was granted asylum by the Trump administration in April. They also reported that he applied during the Biden administration.

On the day of the shooting, Trump said the U.S. must “re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden.”

"If they can't love our country we don't want them," Trump said.

Following Trump's statement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it was pausing all immigration applications from Afghan nationals.

U.S. to review all Biden-era asylum applications

The U.S. will start reviewing all the asylum cases that were approved during the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday. The move follows the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national.

"Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," department spokesperson Tricia Mclaughlin said in a statement, according to Reuters.

In the wake of the U.S.'s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Biden administration was praised by many for offering to resettle around 200,000 Afghan nationals who supported the U.S. military and diplomatic mission in Afghanistan for a period of more than 20 years. The move also drew criticism. The Office of Inspector General released a report in May 2024 that concluded there were "vulnerabilities" in the way applicants for the program were vetted.

Program aiding Afghan refugees under microscope

The ambush of two National Guard members near the White House on Nov. 26 is igniting a new round of criticism towards a Biden-era program that brought the suspected shooter to the country after the United States' 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, the suspect in the shooting, gained entry into the country through "Operation Allies Welcome," a special visa program originally set up to evacuate vulnerable Afghans, and their families, who had cooperated with U.S. forces during the war as the Taliban took back control during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

There had been previous warnings in Department of Homeland Security reports that outlined how the Biden administration failed to track Afghan evacuees. Many Republican lawmakers had also expressed concern about the lack of transparency and the possible danger to communities.

Now the Trump administration is leveraging those fears to pause all immigration applications from Afghan nationals, arguing the previous administration allowed "unvetted foreigners" into the country. But supporters of the program argue Afghan nationals, who helped the U.S. during the war, have gone through the "most extensive security vetting of any population."

Read more here.

Pirro gives fiery defense of Trump's guard deployment

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, gave a fiery response to a member of the media who asked about criticisms of President Donald Trump’s National Guard deployment.

“I don't even want to talk about whether they should have been there," Pirro said at a news conference on Thursday. "We ought to kiss the ground and thank God that the president said it's time to bring in more law enforcement to make sure that a city that had the fourth-highest homicide rate in the country ... that that violence was quelled. I'm not even going to go there."

Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington in August to deter what he described as “violent, menacing street crime.” He ordered 500 more troops to the city after the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members. The new order will bring the total deployment of National Guard members in the nation’s capital to roughly 2,700.

Shooter's motive remains unknown

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, stressed that the investigation into the shooting suspect is fluid and ongoing.

“It’s too soon to say what the motive is, but there are definitely areas that we are looking into, but not ready to say,” Pirro said at a news conference on Thursday morning.

Suspect reportedly worked with CIA during war in Afghanistan

FBI Director Kash Patel said at a news conference that he spoke to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe as part of what he described as an international terrorism investigation.

"There is confirmation now that the subject had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces. We are fully investigating that aspect of his background, as well, to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America," Patel said.

The suspect worked “with CIA-backed military units” during the war in Afghanistan, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

What was the U.S. doing in Afghanistan?

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of its pursuit of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, the militant group that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Then, like now, the Taliban, a hardline Islamist group, ran Afghanistan.

When the Taliban ultimately refused to hand bin Laden over, the U.S. military, with support from Britain and other allies, began a bombing campaign in October 2001 against the Taliban that evolved into a ground operation and a wider "war on terror." The Taliban government fell within months, but al-Qaeda and other aligned militants waged a guerrilla-warfare campaign against U.S. forces and the growing number of international troops sent there for years.

By the time the U.S. fully withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in August 2021, during the Biden administration, tens of thousands of Afghan nationals had worked for the U.S. military as translators, guides, assisting in intelligence-gathering and other logistical roles.

National Guard shooting victims identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24

The two National Guard members who were shot during an attack on Wednesday near the White House have been identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, according to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Pirro made the announcement during a morning news conference on Thursday. They have undergone surgery, she said, and remain in critical condition.

DOJ would seek death penalty if servicemembers do not survive, AG Pam Bondi says

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday morning on Fox News that Beckstrom volunteered to work over the holiday so that others could spend Thanksgiving with their families.

“Yet now, their families are in hospital rooms with them, while they are fighting for their lives,” she said.

Bondi said that if the two guard members did not survive, the Justice Department would “do everything in our power to seek the death penalty” against the suspect, who she said should not have been allowed into the country.

The charges that are brought will depend on what happens to the servicemembers, who are hospitalized, she said. “But worst case scenario, minimum life in prison with terrorism charges.”

Investigators search suspect's home in Washington state

FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI has executed multiple search warrants around the country, including the suspect’s last known residence in Washington state.

All the individuals at the residence have been interviewed and some are ongoing, he said. “We will not stop until we interview anyone and everyone associated with the subject, the house and every piece of his life.”

Patel said that the FBI was also conducting interviews related to the investigation in San Diego.

“This is a coast to coast investigation,” Patel said.

DC shooting suspect used a revolver in attack, officials say

Pirro called it a “brazen and targeted attack” carried out by a “lone gunman” who ambushed them without provocation. The gunman used a 357 Smith and Wesson revolver, Pirro said.

Pirro said the suspect will be charged with three counts of assault, with intent to kill while armed. He will also be charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces 15 years under the assault with the intent to kill, she said.

The U.S. attorney said the government could bring additional charges, depending on the well-being of the servicemembers, who were in critical condition as of this morning.

“We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree,” she said. “But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”

Identity of DC shooting suspect confirmed as Rahmanullah Lakanwal

Authorities are holding Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal in connection with the ambush shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House.

The shooting is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.

In a news release, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national from Washington State, is the suspect taken into custody.

Trump administration asks appeals court to allow National Guard deployments to continue in DC

The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to halt a judge's ruling that halted the president's deployment of the National Guard to DC and called it unlawful.

That decision, which came last week, was on hold so the administration could appeal.

The emergency motion was filed on Wednesday, the same day two National Guard members were shot and critically injured near the White House. The motion did not cite the attack as a reason for the administration's request.

On Nov. 20, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops in Washington without approval from its mayor.

She paused her ruling until Dec. 11 to give the administration time to appeal.

District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb brought the lawsuit on Sept. 4, which accused Trump of usurping control of the city’s law enforcement and violating a law prohibiting troops from doing domestic police work.

Trump requested that another 500 guardsmen be sent to the capital city after the shooting, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Army Secretary visits shooting victims in hospital

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he visited the two West Virginia National Guard members who remain hospitalized after they were shot in what authorities said was a targeted attack.

“I visited our injured National Guardsmen in the hospital today,” Driscoll wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “My heart breaks for them, their families, and those impacted by the horrific attack in our Nation’s capital.”

Driscroll did not provide any information on their condition.

“Every one of our National Guardsmen made a courageous decision to serve their community and their nation,” he wrote. “They serve selflessly to safeguard our way of life. Please keep our Guardsmen in your prayers.”

Trump declares the shooting as 'act of terror'

In a speech from Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday, Trump said on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security "is confident" the suspect being held in connection with the shooting entered the United States from Afghanistan. He declared the shooting a "heinous assault" and an "act of terror."

The president repeatedly used anti-immigrant rhetoric and reiterated that the suspect in the shooting will pay the "steepest possible price." He called Afghanistan "a hell-hole on Earth" and said the suspect was "flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021."

Trump claimed that the Biden administration let in "20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners" and said the U.S. must "re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden."

Following his speech, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that processing of immigration requests for Afghan nationals “is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”

Suspect identified as Afghan national

Reuters, citing an anonymous official, reported that investigators identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national from Washington state.

Lakanwal entered the U.S. on a special visa program for Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the Afghanistan war and were vulnerable to reprisals from the ruling Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal, the official told Reuters.

In a post on X, Noem said the suspect came to the U.S. from Afghanistan in September 2021 under a Biden administration program called Operation Allies Welcome.

US pauses immigration applications from Afghan nationals

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced after the shooting that it was pausing all immigration applications from Afghan nationals.

"Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," the agency said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Most travel and immigration from Afghanistan to the United States was already suspended. Afghanistan was one of the nations included in Trump’s travel ban last June. The president cited visa overstays and a lack of appropriate screening and vetting measures as the reason.

Afghan nationals who entered the country on Special Immigrant Visas after helping the U.S. military or acting as a translator were among a handful of exceptions.

How many Afghans were resettled in the US?

Over 190,000 Afghans were resettled in the U.S. under both operations, "Allies Welcome" and "Enduring Welcome," the two immigration programs the U.S. devised to help Afghans who had worked alongside U.S. diplomats and military personnel in Afghanistan, according to the State Department.

As part of that application process, applicants and their families underwent multiple security screenings by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement before they left Afghanistan. They were also vetted when they transited to the U.S. via other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates.

Most Afghans were given the right to enter, work and remain in the U.S. for two years. They were not automatically given permanent residence. Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national identified as the suspect in the Washington, D.C. shooting, overstayed his visa.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New details emerge about suspect in DC Guard shooting: Live updates

Reporting by Thao Nguyen, James Powel, Sarah D. Wire, Michael Collins, Francesca Chambers and Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect