In a press conference on Thanksgiving Day, U.S. officials identified the National Guard members who were shot with abrupt close-range gunfire in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, of the West Virginia National Guard, both remained hospitalized in critical condition, said Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
Pirro said the suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, drove from Washington state to carry out the attack, using a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver.
Lakanwal is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Officials said the charges may be upgraded.
“We are praying that [the National Guard members] survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”
It was too early to discuss a motive, Pirro said.
Officials said Lakanwal settled in the U.S. during Operation Allies Welcome, an Afghan resettlement program that ran during the Biden administration and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children, according to his landlord.
Lakanwal worked “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said. That partnership "ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation" from the country.
Details of the Wednesday shooting
The shooting that hospitalized the Guard members appeared to be targeted, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
The scene was secured and a single suspect was taken into custody by other members of the National Guard, officials said. The suspect sustained gunshot injuries after exchanging fire with a member of the National Guard. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially said Wednesday afternoon both members of the National Guard who had been shot died from their injuries. But in a follow-up message, he then said "We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information."
President Trump responds
President Donald Trump addressed the nation regarding the "monstrous, ambush-style attack" on Wednesday evening.
"This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation," President Trump said, alleging that the Biden administration admitted "20 million unknown and unvetted" foreign nationals from around the world.
"We're not going to put up with these kind of assaults on law and order by people who shouldn't even be in our country," President Trump said. "We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country."
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said President Trump planned to send 500 additional National Guard troops to the capital in response to the shooting.
Combined, there are already some 2,200 National Guard troops deployed to the city.
The Guard members shot on Wednesday were deployed to Washington D.C. as part of President Trump's emergency order to address allegations of crime in the U.S. capitol. Hundreds of National Guard members from D.C. and from several other states, including West Virginia, mobilized to D.C. in August.
A federal judge last week ordered an end to the deployment, saying the Trump administration's use of the National Guard in such a manner was in violation of the Constitution and an illegal override of local law enforcement authority.
