Alleged National Guard shooter worked with CIA, other US entities in Afghanistan
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SPECIAL: The Afghan national accused of shooting National Guard members two blocks from the White House worked with various US government agencies, including the CIA, as a member of a joint force in Afghanistan, Fox News Digital has learned.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States following the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 under the Biden administration. Lakanwal arrived in the United States a month later as part of “Operation Allies Welcome.”
TWO NATIONAL GUARDS WERE SHOT NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE, AFGHAN NATIONAL SUSPECT IN CUSTODY: ‘BAD ACTION’
National Guard soldiers rally following the shooting of two fellow soldiers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Intelligence sources told Fox News Digital that Lakanwal had prior contact with various agencies in the U.S. government, including the CIA, due to his work as a member of a joint force in Kandahar.
“Following Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 because of his previous work with the U.S. government, including the CIA, as a member of a joint force in Kandahar, which ended shortly after the chaotic evacuation,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on January 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“This person and so many others should never have been allowed to come here,” Ratcliffe continued. “Our citizens and service members deserve far better than suffering the ongoing consequences of the Biden administration’s devastating failures.”
Ratcliffe added: “God bless our brave troops.”
The FBI is leading the investigation, Fox News Digital has learned.
2 NATIONAL GUARDS WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED IN THE ‘TARGET SHOOTING’ BLOCKS OF THE WHITE HOUSE
Multiple senior intelligence sources told Fox News Digital that the attack is being investigated as a possible act of international terrorism.
FBI officials confirmed that two West Virginia National Guard members are in critical condition.
Law enforcement officers secure the area after a shooting targeting National Guard members in downtown Washington, DC, on November 26, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
In an online address to the nation late Wednesday, President Donald Trump called the attack a “brutal assault” and described how one of the Guard members was “shot at point-blank range in a monstrous ambush-style attack just feet from the White House.”
Trump added that the “heinous attack” was “an evil act, an act of hate and an act of terrorism. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.”
“Tonight, the hearts of all Americans go out to these two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families,” he added. “Our entire country’s love goes out to them, and we lift them up in our prayers as we are filled with anguish and grief for those shot, but also with righteous anger and fierce determination. As President of the United States, I am determined to ensure that the animal that committed this atrocity pays the harshest price possible.”
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“This is a targeted attack,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday afternoon at a news conference following the attack. “It turned out that a person targeted these guards. This person was taken into custody.”
