Two National Guard members remain in critical condition after ‘targeted shooting’ near White House
On Thursday morning, federal officials revealed more details about the attack the day before that left two National Guard members in critical condition in an apparent “targeted shooting” near the White House.
Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital, identified the two injured West Virginia National Guard members as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolf, 24.
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro speaks during a press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel and other authorities regarding the shooting of two members of the National Guard, in Washington, DC, on November 27, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
The shooting took place around 2:15 pm Wednesday afternoon near the Farragut West subway station.
Pirro said the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly drove across the country from Washington state to attack Guard members.
He said the suspect, an Afghan national, ambushed Guard members and opened fire with a .357 Smith. & A Wesson revolver, he said.
“One guard is hit, falls and then the shooter leans down and hits the guard again. Another guard is hit multiple times,” he said.
Other National Guard members responded quickly and helped subdue the suspected shooter after he was shot by a Guard member.
Pirro said the suspect will be charged with several charges, including assault with intent to arm and criminal possession of a weapon. He noted that those charges could change depending on the fate of the injured Guard members.
The White House was briefly locked down Wednesday, but the order was lifted around 5 p.m. President Donald Trump and the first lady are in Florida, where they are spending Thanksgiving at their Mar-a-Lago club.
Lakanwal arrived in the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration, said Kristi Noem, Homeland Security. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted asylum in April of this year, under the Trump administration, according to three law enforcement sources.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 26: Members of the United States Secret Service respond to a shooting near the White House on November 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were reportedly shot a few blocks from the White House. A suspect is being held at a local hospital.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“He previously worked with the United States government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is investigating the shooting as a possible act of international terrorism, and sources told ABC News that authorities are trying to determine whether it may have been inspired by an international terrorist organization.
“[The suspect] would have been tested against classified and unclassified possessions when he came here and as part of the asylum process,” said ABC News contributor John Cohen, former Department of Homeland Security intelligence chief and former US counterterrorism coordinator. “He was actually granted asylum under the Trump administration… This raises the question of whether the administration is focusing enough on terrorist threats versus civil immigration enforcement.”
The National Guard was deployed to the nation’s capital as part of Trump’s federal takeover of the city and crime crackdown in August. As of the most recent update, there were 2,188 Guard troops assigned to D.C.
On Tuesday, during the traditional turkey pardon at the White House, Trump touted his administration’s takeover of the streets of DC. He said it was “one of the most unsafe places in the United States. It is now considered a totally safe city.”
“You could walk down any street in Washington and you’ll be fine. And I want to thank the National Guard. I want to thank them for the job they’ve done here, which is incredible,” Trump said at the event.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
