The president points the finger at an Afghan citizen who arrived in the US during the Biden administration and orders a review of entry procedures. Two National Guard soldiers remain in critical condition, while the capital is placed under lockdown amid massive security deployments.
The president of the United States Donald Trump branded the armed attack against two members of the group as an “act of terrorism”. National Guard occurred in the center of Washingtondeclaring that the person responsible – a 29-year-old Afghan – will be brought to justice without any indulgence. Speaking in a speech broadcast on television on Wednesday evening, Trump claimed that the man had arrived in the United States in 2021 during the term of Joe Biden and instructed his administration to review the entire influx of Afghan citizens under the previous government. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the suspect entered the country in 2021. Trump reiterated that, in his opinion, «any individual coming from abroad who does not contribute to American interests must not remain on our territory» adding that «those who do not feel attachment to the United States he is not welcome.”
According to the reconstruction provided by the police, the Afghan citizen identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal apparently ambushed soldiers on duty near the White House on Wednesday afternoon. The conditions of the two National Guard members are still very serious, as communicated by the FBI director Kash Patel. Trump defined the action as “a cowardly act, driven by hatred and attributable to terrorism” and promised “a severe and immediate response” assuring that “the perpetrator will be punished promptly, unless the intervening blows have already prevented any further threat”. Late in the evening, i Citizenship and immigration services announced through a statement published on X the temporary suspension of the examination of all requests for entry and protection made by Afghan citizens, pending an update of the verification procedures.
The deputy head of the Metropolitan Police, Jeffery Carrollexplained that the attacker acted alone. According to his reconstruction, the soldiers were engaged in patrolling when the man appeared from a corner and immediately opened fire. “Everything indicates that the attacker was an isolated individual who approached armed with the intention of setting up an ambush,” Carroll said. The suspect was shot by officers and transferred to hospital under surveillance. The mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowserspoke of a “deliberate attack”. An intelligence official said the shooting occurred near the metro station Farragut West and that there are no indications that the White House was the direct target.
The two soldiers belonged to the contingent deployed in the capital on Trump’s directive as part of operations to support city security. Overall, approx 2,200 members from the National Guard they had been assigned to Washingtonof which 925 came from the district and over 1,200 from other states. Their presence had sparked legal challenges from the elected attorney general of District of Columbiawho contested the administration’s decision to deploy them as part of the «Make Washington DC Safe and Beautiful». On Wednesday morning, the governor of West Virginia Patrick Morrisey he had initially announced the death of the two soldiers from his state on
Trumpin a post on Truth Socialspecified that the two soldiers were hospitalized in different hospitals and that the attacker is also in serious conditions, “but in any case he will suffer very harsh consequences”. The president is in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday and was not in Washington at the time of the attack. The Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the dispatch of a further 500 military personnel National Guard in the city, at the request of the president. In the afternoon, the area of Farragut Square it was completely isolated from the police, with large areas delimited by security tapes and a strong presence of agents. The site of the attack is located in a busy central area, made up almost exclusively of offices a few blocks away White House. There were officers from the Secret Service, the Parks Police and the Metropolitan Police present on site, as well as units from the National Guard. A helicopter was monitoring the area from above. Administration sources reported that the White House and the headquarters of Treasury Department have been temporarily placed on lockdown.
