Politics
Alleged National Guard Shooter Worked With CIA, Other U.S. Entities In Afghanistan
The Afghan national accused of shooting and critically injuring two West Virginia National Guard soldiers in Washington D.C. worked with various U.S. government entities, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in the Afghanistan conflict.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the country following the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 under the Biden Administration. He was able to enter the country about a month later through “Operation Allies Welcome.”
According to a report from Fox News, Lakanwal had a prior relationship with various entities in the U.S. government, including the CIA, while working as a member of a partner force in Kandahar.
In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, 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, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told the outlet.
“The individual—and so many others—should have never been allowed to come here,” Ratcliffe continued. “Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.”
BREAKING: The Afghan National Terrorist, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who shot members of the National Guard near The White House, worked with the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/FUMjsfNXPA
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 27, 2025
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Thursday morning that both soldiers, identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, had successfully gone through surgery but remained in critical condition. Pirro further revealed that both soldiers were sworn into service less than 24 hours before the attack.
Both Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel stated that charges against the suspect will hang on whether Beckstrom and Wolfe survive their injuries.
The FBI is investigating the incident as a potential act of terrorism after the gunman allegedly emerged from around a corner before opening fire on the soldiers with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. Officials have confirmed that the victims were deliberately targeted.
One nearby National Guardsman, who was not carrying a firearm, rushed the gunman with a pocket knife as he was reloading his weapon. The heroic soldier proceeded to stab the attacker in the head repeatedly while additional National Guard personnel and D.C. Metropolitan Police responded to the scene.
During a news conference on the shooting Thursday morning, Director Patel had harsh words for the Biden Administration over lax security protocols surrounding resettlement of Afghan nationals in 2021.
“This individual is in this country for one reason and one reason alone, because of the disastrous withdrawal from the Biden administration and the failure to vet in any way, in any way, shape or form this individual and countless others, and this administration has taken the rightful step to stop any further allowance of people with this similar background into the country,” Patel said.
“You miss all the signs when you do absolutely zero vetting. And that’s exactly what happened in this case when you in the prior administration, made the decision to allow thousands of people into this country without doing a single piece of background checking or vetting, that’s how you miss every single sign,” he continued.
During an address to the nation on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump announced that he would be deploying an additional 500 National Guard soldiers to downtown D.C. following the attack.
“It was a crime against humanity. The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families. The love of our entire country is pouring out for them, and we are lifting them up in our prayers. As we are filled with anguish and grief for those who were shot, we’re also filled with righteous anger and ferocious resolve,” Trump said in the roughly five-minute address.
“As President of the United States, I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price. I can report tonight that, based on the best available information, the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on Earth,” the president continued.
