What we covered here
• Two West Virginia National Guard members were shot near the White House are in critical condition, officials said Wednesday. Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack as a “targeted shooting.” President Donald Trump condemned it as an “act of terror” and a “heinous assault.”
• The Department of Homeland Security has identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who came to the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome. CNN previously reported the suspect applied for asylum in 2024, which was granted by the Trump administration in April 2025.
• Shortly after Trump’s remarks, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it has stopped processing all immigration cases related to Afghan immigrants “indefinitely pending further review.”
• Meanwhile, the Trump administration has asked for 500 more National Guard troops to be deployed to DC. It also asked a federal appeals court for an emergency stay of an order from a federal judge to remove the National Guard from Washington, DC. Last week, the judge ruled the deployment was unlawful.
Our live coverage of the shooting has moved here.
Trump vows immigration crackdown after shooting of National Guard members in DC
It took only a few hours for President Donald Trump to turn what he called “an act of evil, and an act of terror” into a full-blown argument for an even more intense crackdown on immigration.
His vow came as authorities held a man Trump described as an Afghan national over the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard reservists in Washington, DC. They were in the capital as part of Trump’s controversial deployment of troops to bolster law enforcement.
The president, speaking on video from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, pivoted quickly from paying tribute to the victims of the tragedy to blaming the Biden administration for bringing the alleged shooter to the United States after the withdrawal of American troops in 2021. He claimed the incident “underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.”
But he also used the moment to drive home his campaign against other migrants in politically charged remarks that went far beyond Afghanistan — at a moment when his administration is moving to reinterview some refugees admitted under President Joe Biden and revoking temporary protected status for those from several dangerous world hot spots.
Read the full analysis here.
What is Operation Allies Welcome, the program officials say brought the suspect to the US?
The suspect accused of shooting two National Guard members came to the US on September 8, 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Operation Allies Welcome is a Biden-era program, launched in August 2021 to protect vulnerable Afghans in the wake of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Most Afghans who arrived under Operation Allies Welcome were allowed to enter and remain in the US for two years. More than 40% of the migrants admitted in the program were eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) because they took great risks to help the US, or were related to someone who did, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it earlier this year, under the Trump administration, according to multiple law enforcement officials.
Over 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the US under Operation Allies Welcome, which was later renamed Enduring Welcome, according to the State Department.
Since taking office in January, Trump has enacted sweeping changes to US refugee policy and foreign assistance, cutting off thousands of Afghans who helped the US during the war from critical resources, as CNN has reported.
Read more here on the program that officials say brought the suspect to the US.
Army secretary says he visited injured guard members in the hospital after DC shooting
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll said late Wednesday he visited the two National Guard members who were shot earlier in the day near the White House and called for prayers.
Both Guard members are in critical condition, officials said at an earlier news conference.
Joint Task Force – DC offers "thoughts and prayers" to guard members injured near White House
The commander of the Joint Task Force — District of Columbia offered “thoughts and prayers” to the two West Virginia National Guard members who were shot in Washington, DC, earlier Wednesday, calling them “heroes.”
The Joint Task Force — DC is the National Guard office responsible for organizing the Guard mission to Washington, DC.
Doane added: “These Guardsmen came to the District from West Virginia to make their nation’s capital, safe and beautiful. They’re heroes.”
Doane also applauded the guard members and law enforcement officials “who subdued the suspected shooter.”
“I’d like to highlight the level of training, focus, and wherewithal it takes to see two of your own shot and have the presence of mind to subdue the suspect with no further incident,” Doane said.
All immigration requests for Afghan nationals "stopped indefinitely," US immigration agency says
The processing of all immigration cases related to Afghan immigrants “is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post on X.
“The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,” the agency said.
The move comes after President Donald Trump said in an address earlier this evening that all Afghan immigrants who came in the country during the previous administration would be re-examined.
Trump officials have repeatedly argued that the previous administration didn’t sufficiently vet the people who entered the US.
This post has been updated to clarify the Trump administration’s handling of Afghan immigration cases.
DHS identifies National Guard shooting suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal
The Department of Homeland Security has identified the suspect involved in the shooting that left two National Guard members in critical condition as Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
CNN previously reported the suspect applied for asylum in 2024, and it was granted by the Trump administration in April 2025.
“His face was covered in blood,” says witness at the scene after shooting of National Guardsmen
Leila Christopher and a friend were on their way to a popular holiday market in Washington, DC, before National Guard members issued them a warning: “Run.”
She said she saw a National Guardman being wheeled out on a stretcher with a device that appeared to help pump his heart. “His face was covered in blood,” Christopher said.
The witness said she saw “so many” law enforcement officials on the scene and that she was quickly enmeshed in the chaos. It took her and her friend hours to leave the scene.
Shooting suspect identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, sources say
The suspect involved in the shooting that left two National Guard members in critical condition has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump in a video message tonight said, “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 hell hole on earth.”
Following the remarks, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X that the suspect was “mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration.”
CNN previously reported the suspect applied for asylum in 2024, and it was granted by the Trump administration in April 2025.
Nonprofit president calls on public to not “demonize the Afghan community” following suspect’s identification
Shawn VanDiver, the president of a nonprofit organization aimed at relocating and resettling Afghan people, condemned “anyone who uses, or seeks to use, violence” following today’s shooting that authorities believe was carried out by a man who immigrated to the US from Afghanistan.
He went on to add that the organization, AfghanEvac, “expects and fully supports the perpetrator facing full accountability and prosecution under the law.”
Following the shooting, VanDiver also called on the public to not “demonize the Afghan community for the deranged choice this person made.”
“AfghanEvac rejects any attempt to leverage this tragedy as a political ploy to isolate or harm Afghans who have resettled in the United States, he said. “Those who would twist this moment to attack Afghan families aren’t seeking safety or justice — they’re exploiting division and endangering all of us.”
Noem follows Trump’s lead, faulting Biden’s immigration policies for DC shooting
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem followed President Donald Trump’s lead, mentioning the DC shooting suspect’s nationality and former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies in relation to today’s violent incident.
“The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration,” Noem wrote on X. “I will not utter this depraved individual’s name. He should be starved of the glory he so desperately wants.”
She went on to praise National Guard members and said she and her husband “will be praying hard” for the shooting victims, their families and other members of law enforcement.
Remember: Multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told CNN that the shooter’s initial identification matches a man from Washington state who appears to have immigrated here from Afghanistan in 2021. The suspect applied for asylum in 2024, and it was granted earlier this year.
CNN’s John Miller and Evan Perez contributed reporting.
Trump takes grim tone in address to the nation about DC shooting, criticizing Biden over vetting of migrants
President Donald Trump took a grim tone in a brief address to the nation tonight, criticizing former President Joe Biden over vetting of migrants after a man shot two National Guardsmen this afternoon near the White House.
The attack on Americans in uniform and the president’s speech came on the eve of Thanksgiving, a holiday meant to give thanks first celebrated by migrants seeking a better life alongside Native Americans in Massachusetts in 1621.
Speaking from his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump described the suspect as a “foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hell hole on earth.” The FBI believes it has identified the suspect, with the initial ID matching a man from Washington state who appears to have immigrated from Afghanistan in 2021, law enforcement officials told CNN.
In the address, Trump called Biden “a disastrous president, the worst in the history of our country.” Biden presided over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Trump lamented what he described as “20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners” who entered the United States during his predecessor’s administration, casting it as “a risk to our very survival” as he called for a reexamination of every person who entered from Afghanistan during the Biden presidency.
The president also took aim at Somali immigrants living in Minnesota, claiming they are “ripping off our country and ripping apart that once-great state,” casting Somalia as a country that has “no laws, no water, no military, no nothing.”
The event was broadcast on the White House YouTube page. There were no reporters present.
Trump says DHS "is confident" DC shooting suspect is from Afghanistan and blames Biden administration
President Donald Trump said tonight the Department of Homeland Security “is confident” that the suspect in the Washington, DC, shooting of two National Guardsmen came to the US from Afghanistan.
Trump went on to criticize his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, claiming that the suspect “was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021.”
Trump says National Guardsmen shot “point blank” in “monstrous, ambush-style attack” near White House
President Donald Trump on Wednesday night denounced the shooting that left two National Guard members critically wounded in Washington, DC, describing the incident as a “monstrous, ambush-style attack” carried out at “point blank range.”
“My great fellow Americans, earlier today, on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, two members of the National Guard serving in Washington DC was shot at point-blank range in a monstrous ambush style attack just steps away from the White House,” Trump said in a late-night video address.
Trump calls for re-examining "every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden"
President Donald Trump called for re-examining all Afghan immigrants who have entered the country under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
The Trump administration was already in the process of re-interviewing Afghan migrants admitted to the US during the previous administration, according to an internal memo and a source familiar with the plans. Even before today’s shooting, Trump officials argued that the previous administration didn’t sufficiently vet the people who entered the US.
Trump condemns shooting as a "heinous assault"
President Donald Trump condemned today’s shooting as a “heinous assault” and “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.”
“It was a crime against our entire nation,” he said. “It was a crime against humanity.”
Trump says he will address DC shooting shortly
President Donald Trump, in a post on social media, said he will speak about the shooting of two National Guardsmen tonight.
WV senator defends Trump's request to deploy more National Guard troops to DC
West Virginia GOP Sen. Jim Justice defended President Donald Trump’s request to send 500 more National Guard troops to be deployed to Washington, DC, following the shooting for two guardsmen earlier today.
When asked about concerns that sending additional troops could make them a target, Justice said, “We can’t be afraid.”
When asked if West Virginia would send any additional troops, Justice said, “Well, I hope they would.”
We've learned more about the suspect in the shooting of 2 National Guardsmen in DC. Here's the latest
On the day before the Thanksgiving holiday, a gunman opened fire and left two National Guardmen critically injured in Washington, DC’s Farragut Square — a tourist-heavy area located near a busy transit center and the White House.
As investigators gather more information on the incident and suspected perpetrator, here are the most recent developments:
Initial ID: The FBI believes the shooter’s initial identification matches a man from Washington state who appears to have immigrated to the US from Afghanistan in 2021, multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told CNN. Authorities ran the fingerprints of the man in custody and that’s how they got the initial name, one official added, noting they are still working on additional confirmation. The suspect applied for asylum in 2024, and it was granted earlier this year.
Investigation updates: Local, state and national officials have vowed to bring justice to the victims and their families. So far, investigators have recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the attack. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said he spoke to President Donald Trump about the two Guardsmen from his state who were shot. “We’re going to keep working to make sure that justice is served,” Morrisey said.
More on the scene: Eyewitnesses recounted the violence, with one telling the WUSA local television station that they heard five shots ring out before they saw people running. Another witness, who is visiting DC for the holiday, said he hid behind chairs in Farragut Square and that he saw a person with his hands behind his back on his stomach, who he assumes was the shooter.
Emergency stay: The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court for an emergency stay of an order from a federal judge to remove the National Guard from Washington, DC. Last week, the judge ruled the deployment was unlawful.
Former presidents weigh in: An array of officials have shared their condolences for those impacted by the shooting, including former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
CNN’s Brian Todd reported from the scene in DC today.
Two members of the West Virginia National Guardsmen who were shot in Washington, DC are in critical condition, according to officials. CNN's Brian Todd reports.
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Casey Gannon, Brian Todd and Taylor Romine contributed reporting.
Police recover gun believed to have been used in attack on National Guard members, sources say
Investigators recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the attack on the National Guard members and are working to determine when and how the suspect obtained it, law enforcement officials told CNN.
US law restricts firearms sales to people who aren’t citizens or legal permanent residents and it’s unclear whether the alleged gunman could have legally bought the handgun, the officials said.
Video from the nearby Metro station showed the shooting as it happened, the officials told CNN.
The gunman approached three National Guard members who appeared to not see him until he began shooting, striking one guard member and then another, the officials said.
The gunman then stood over the first victim and appeared to try to fire another round. That’s when the third guard member returned fire at the alleged shooter, the sources said.