U.S. authorities have charged an Afghan national who previously worked with a CIA-backed special forces unit in Afghanistan after he allegedly drove across the country and carried out an ambush-style shooting on two West Virginia National Guard members just blocks from the White House.
Officials said 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the United States in 2021 through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, shot the soldiers with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver on Wednesday afternoon in downtown Washington. Both service members—Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24—remain hospitalized in critical condition.
The rare and brazen attack on uniformed U.S. troops deployed domestically has triggered a sweeping FBI investigation and renewed political scrutiny of Afghan refugee vetting procedures.
Suspect Traveled from Washington State to D.C.
Authorities revealed that Lakanwal drove from Bellingham, Washington, where he lived with his wife and five children, to the nation’s capital before allegedly targeting the soldiers.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro described the incident as an “ambush-style attack” but said it was too early to identify a motive. The suspect, who was shot by a responding guardsman and later arrested, is charged with:
Assault with intent to kill while armed
Possession of a firearm during a crime of violence
Charges may be upgraded to murder if either victim does not survive, Pirro said.
Former CIA-Backed Zero Unit Fighter
Multiple officials confirmed that Lakanwal previously served in the CIA-supported Zero Units, elite Afghan paramilitary formations that fought alongside American operatives during the war. These units were often deployed in high-risk counterterror missions and played a crucial role in securing Kabul’s airport during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in 2021.
A relative in Khost province told the Associated Press that Lakanwal had worked with the unit since 2012, starting as a security guard before becoming a team leader and GPS specialist. Both he and his brother were evacuated to the U.S. in 2021.
Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal’s association with the agency, adding that their relationship ended shortly after the withdrawal.
Terrorism Investigation Underway
FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the attack is being treated as a terrorist act, noting that search warrants had been executed across multiple states.
“This is a coast-to-coast investigation,” Patel said.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser condemned the shooting as a broader attack on the nation.
“Somebody drove across the country and came to Washington, D.C., to attack America,” she said. “That person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
National Guard and Political Fallout
The incident comes amid heightened debate over the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to cities experiencing violent crime surges. In response to the attack, the administration ordered 500 additional Guard members to Washington.
President Donald Trump, in a video message released Wednesday night, demanded a reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees admitted under the evacuation program.
“If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” Trump said, calling the shooting “a crime against our entire nation.”
Operation Allies Welcome brought approximately 76,000 Afghans into the United States, many of whom had assisted U.S. forces. The program has since faced intense criticism from Republicans alleging gaps in vetting, despite advocates insisting that entrants underwent extensive screening.
Victims in Critical Condition
Pirro said both families have been notified and are receiving full support.
“We are praying that they survive,” she said, stressing that prosecutors will pursue the highest possible charges.
The shocking attack on uniformed soldiers in the capital—just blocks from the White House and on the eve of Thanksgiving—marks one of the most serious domestic assaults on National Guard personnel in recent memory, and has reignited both national security concerns and political tensions surrounding U.S. resettlement of wartime Afghan allies.
