WASHINGOTN - A man suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers near the White House was an Afghan national who had served alongside American troops in Afghanistan, US media reported Wednesday, as Washington labelled the incident an "act of terror."
Rahmanullah Lakanwal opened fire and wounded the soldiers on patrol on Wednesday afternoon, before he was shot and hospitalised, the New York Times, CBS, NBC and others reported.
Without naming him, US security chief Kristi Noem said on social media that the suspect "was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome".
The program, launched by former president Joe Biden, offered vulnerable Afghans, including those who served alongside US forces, the chance to resettle in the United States after the return of the Taliban government.
NBC quoted a relative of the suspect, who said Lakanwal arrived in the United States in September 2021, having served in the Afghan army for 10 years alongside US Special Forces, largely based in Kandahar.
Fox News, citing CIA chief John Ratcliffe, said Lakanwal worked with various US government entities, including the intelligence service.
Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024, which was granted in 2025, CNN and CBS reported, citing public security authorities.
US President Donald Trump said that the suspect was an Afghan who arrived in the United States in 2021 "on those infamous flights," referring to the evacuations of Afghans as the Taliban took over the war-torn country following the US retreat.
Soon after Trump's address, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended all Afghan applications indefinitely.
"Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," the agency wrote on social media.
Trump condemned the shooting as "an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror", calling it a "crime against our entire nation."
The shocking attack, carried out early afternoon when the streets and offices of downtown Washington were bustling, has renewed focus on Trump's controversial militarisation of an anti-crime push around the country.
