The Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members just blocks from the White House previously worked with multiple U.S. government entities—including the CIA—while serving with a partner force in Kandahar, Afghanistan, according to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem said entered the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era resettlement program launched after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Lakanwal was brought to the United States due to his work with the U.S entities, Ratcliffe told Fox News during an interview published Nov. 26.
“In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation,” the CIA chief told the outlet.
The Epoch Times reached out to the CIA for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Targeted Shooting Near White House
The shooting
happened at about 2:15 p.m. ET on Nov. 26 near 17th and I Street NW, Jeff Carroll, the Metropolitan Police Department’s executive assistant chief of specialized operations, said.
Carroll said a lone gunman “came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard members.”
Other guardsmen at the scene were able to subdue the suspect “after some back and forth,” Carroll said. Lakanwal was taken into custody and later transferred to a hospital.
John Ratcliffe testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on his nomination to be CIA director, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025. (Jemal Countess/AFP via Getty Images)
The two wounded guardsmen, members of the West Virginia National Guard assigned to Joint Task Force-DC, remain in critical condition, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Initial reports about their condition were conflicting, officials acknowledged.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the shooting was targeted and vowed the suspect would be prosecuted “to the full extent of the law.”
Joint Task Force-DC said in a statement to The Epoch Times that its members were patrolling near the Farragut West Metro Station when they came under fire.
National Guard soldiers near the White House on Nov. 26, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
Trump Administration Response
On Nov. 26, President Donald Trump condemned the shooting as “an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror,” pledging that the perpetrator would face “the steepest possible price.”
He also called for a full reinvestigation of all Afghans who entered the United States under the Biden administration.
“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said. “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them.”
Washington Metropolitan Police near the White House on Nov. 26, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced shortly afterward that it had halted all immigration case processing for Afghan nationals indefinitely, pending further review of security and vetting protocols.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the attack strengthened the administration’s resolve and said he was requesting 500 additional National Guard troops for Washington.
“This happened just steps away from the White House. It will not stand,” he said, while condemning the shooting as a “cowardly, dastardly” act.
What Is Operation Allies Welcome?
Operation Allies Welcome began in August 2021 as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. At the time, the Biden administration
said it was “working around the clock to conduct the security screening and vetting of vulnerable Afghans” seeking entry into the United States and that interagency partners would ensure arrivals “do not pose a national security or public safety risk.”
The program initially allowed most Afghans to remain in the United States for two years without permanent immigration status. More than 40 percent qualified for Special Immigrant Visas for assisting U.S. operations, according to the DHS.
In 2022, the initiative was renamed Enduring Welcome as federal agencies shifted toward longer-term pathways.
More than 190,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States under both efforts, according to the State Department.
