Feds ID National Guard members shot near White House

It was discovered that two National Guard members opened fire just blocks away from the White House the day before Thanksgiving, in what officials described as a “targeted” attack.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said at a press conference Thursday morning that 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe were in critical condition after surgery.

“I also want to say that both Sarah and Andrew were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington,” Pirro said. he said.

Beckstrom and Wolfe are members of the West Virginia National Guard, who were sent to the nation’s capital to fight crime in the city following an executive order from President Donald Trump earlier this year.

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“They answered the call. They took responsibility. They volunteered. They risked their lives for people they didn’t know,” Pirro said of the two Guard members.

Pirro spoke Thursday morning alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Brig. General Leland Blanchard of the National Guard. He provided new details about the shooting, including the weapon the suspect used.

File photo of National Guard Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, who was injured in a shooting in Washington, DC, on November 26, 2025. (Provided by the Ministry of Justice)

Beckstrom and Wolfe were in uniform near the Farragut West Metro station around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday when they were “ambushed” in a “brazen and targeted attack,” Pirro said.

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“A lone gunman opened fire without provocation, in an ambush-style manner,” he said. “A Guardsman armed with a .357 Smith and Wesson pistol was shot, fell to the ground, and then the shooter ducked and attacked the Guardsman again. Another Guardsman was hit several times.”

National Guard members gather following reports that two National Guard soldiers were shot near the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Other nearby Guardsmen immediately attacked the suspect, Pirro said. A responding Guard quickly subdued the suspect, shooting him.

According to Pirro, the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was taken to a local hospital where he was kept under tight security measures.

Authorities are investigating the attack as a possible act of international terrorism.

Undated file photo of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, on November 26, 2025. (Provided by the Ministry of Justice)

Patel said he met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and confirmed that the suspect had ties to US partner forces in Afghanistan.

“We are also fully investigating this aspect of his background to include known partners abroad or in the United States,” he said.

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Lakanwal legally entered the United States in 2021 on humanitarian parole as part of the Biden administration’s Operation Allied Welcome following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. He had his asylum application approved during the Trump administration.

Federal authorities executed multiple search warrants across the country, including at Lakanwal’s last known residence in Bellingham, Washington, Patel said.

Emergency personnel gather near the site where National Guard soldiers were apparently shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

“We seized a number of electronic devices in the process, including mobile phones, laptops, iPads and other materials being analyzed as we speak,” he said.

Evidence found in Washington state led investigators to San Diego, where they interviewed multiple subjects, Patel said.

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“According to this investigation [in Washington]and all the known associates of the matter and of that house are how we got to San Diego, where discussions have been held and will continue to be held.”

Patel added: “And we will go anywhere in the country or the world where the evidence directs us.”