In an expanding investigation into an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard members, the FBI searched several properties on Thursday.
The attack sparked a comprehensive review of asylum cases and accusations from the Trump administration of Biden era immigration vetting failures.
Following the gunshot outside the White House on Wednesday, investigators were carrying out what officials described as a terrorism probe.
The suspect, who authorities claimed was a member of a CIA backed force in Afghanistan before arriving in the United States in 2021 as part of a resettlement program, was the subject of a raid on a residence in Washington state.
The two seriously injured Guard soldiers were identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, by U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated during a press conference that agents interviewed the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, and confiscated a number of electronic devices from his home, including iPads, computers, and telephones.
According to Pirro, the suspect ambushed the Guard troops on Wednesday afternoon when they were on patrol close to the White House after driving across the country.
Equipped with a potent revolver, a .357 Magnum, he opened fire on a member who had fallen, then fired again before repeatedly striking the second member.
Before being taken into custody, the gunman was hurt in a gunfight with Guard men. On Thursday, he was under close observation in the hospital.
According to Jeff Carroll, executive assistant chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, the alleged attacker, who resided in Washington state with his wife and five children, seemed to have acted alone.
According to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the U.S. government intends to charge the gunman with terrorism and demand a life sentence "at a minimum."
During her briefing, Pirro stated that if either of the Guard soldiers dies from their wounds, the gunman might face first-degree murder charges.
Beckstrom's father informed the New York Times that their daughter was not likely to live. Gary Beckstrom said, "I'm holding her hand right now," to the newspaper.
Patel called the shootings a "heinous act of terrorism" during the press conference in Washington, D.C., but neither he nor Pirro provided a potential explanation.
Pirro and Patel were eager to blame President Donald Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, for policies that let the Afghan immigrant to enter the country, but they did not provide any proof to back up their claims.
According to a U.S. government file on the alleged gunman that Reuters was able to view, Trump gave him asylum this year. However, Trump, who has made enforcing restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration a focal point of his presidency, may be able to use this case to claim that even legitimate avenues, such as asylum, put Americans' security at risk.
Trump officials started directing extensive assessments of immigration rules less than a day after the shooting. According to Department of Homeland Security officials, the Trump administration was initiating an examination of all refugee cases authorized under the Biden administration and Green Cards granted to citizens of 19 different nations.
That came after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said that all immigration requests pertaining to Afghan nationals would be suspended immediately and indefinitely, barely hours after the killing.
Lakanwal had collaborated with CIA-backed local groups in Afghanistan, according to a statement from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, but he provided no other information.
The CIA backed squad in the southern province of Kandahar was described by the New York Times, citing anonymous individuals, as a Zero Unit that received training and support from the U.S. espionage agency.
By the time the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan, the units, which had thousands of members and were a paramilitary outfit prepared to carry out covert operations and night raids, had formally joined the Afghan intelligence service, according to the Times.
The Department of Homeland Security claims that Lakanwal came to the United States in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden era initiative to relocate thousands of Afghans who had helped the United States during the war in Afghanistan and were afraid of retaliation from Taliban forces that had taken over after the United States withdrew.
"The Biden Administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. Government," Ratcliffe said in a press release. "This individual - and so many others - should have never been allowed to come here."
Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was granted it on April 23 of this year, three months after Trump took power, according to a Trump administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, Lakanwal, a resident of Washington state, had no known criminal background. Trump ordered the two West Virginian Guard troops to participate in a militarized law enforcement operation in August, which Washington, D.C. officials challenged in court.
Following the massacre, Trump ordered an additional 500 troops to be stationed in the capital, adding to the roughly 2,200 already there as part of his assault on immigration and crime in Democratic led cities.
It was unclear whether the shooting will result in modifications to the Guard's urban operations. Usually equipped with pistols, members patrol in small groups, sometimes on foot.
