Soldiers near the White House shot by an Afghan man

The assailant who shot at National Guardsmen just blocks from the White House in Washington on Wednesday was 29-year-old Afghan immigrant Rahmanullah Lakanwal. Police said he walked up to a pair of soldiers patrolling the entrance of a subway station at noon, pulled out a gun and immediately opened fire.

Both the soldiers sustained critical injuries. The man was wounded and detained after a brief exchange of fire. Police described the attack as targeted, with the assailant believed to have acted alone.

Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 as part of a program designed for Afghans who worked with U.S. forces. NBC News says he served a decade in the Afghan army alongside U.S. Special Forces, spending part of his service in Kandahar.

Relatives said he last worked for Amazon. A Trump administration official confirmed that he applied for asylum in December 2024; he was approved in April of this year. He had no known criminal history.

The motive for the attack is not yet known. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said on Platform X after the incident that both officers lost their lives. He later wrote that he was receiving "conflicting reports" about their medical conditions.

(reuters, lud)