This photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, show Rahmanullah Lakanwal. (U.S. Attorney’s Office via AP)
[Editor’s Note: President Trump announced on Thursday night that the female National Guardsman, Sara Beckstrom, had died from her injuries.]
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
1 thought on “Suspect in DC Shooting Worked With US Government Entities in Afghanistan, Including CIA: Ratcliffe – The Epoch Times”
If you live in and are a citizen of the United States you have the right to a fair trial. This creep is not an American citizen and he should have no rights what so ever. Our laws seems to protect everyone at our expense. We will pay for trial after trial, for years and years while he gets free room and board probably until he dies.
Comments are closed.