Afghan national suspect in National Guard shooting worked with CIA

An Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, DC on Wednesday worked with the CIA while serving in a "partner force" in Afghanistan. The ambush attack was just steps from the White House.

According to intelligence sources, Rahmanullah Lakanwal had an established working relationship with various American agencies, including the CIA. He served in the Afghan Army and fought alongside US Special Forces against the Taliban in Kandahar, a region central to US counterterrorism operations, according to Fox News.

29-year-old Lakanwal entered the US in September 2021, shortly after the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. He arrived under Operation Allies Welcome, the federal program created to resettle Afghans who had assisted US military and intelligence missions during the two-decade war, and was settled in Bellingham, Washington.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe told the outlet that Lakanwal’s admission into the country highlighted serious failures in the administration’s vetting process.

“The individual and so many others should have never been allowed to come here,” Ratcliffe said. “Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures. God bless our brave troops.”

The FBI has taken the lead in the investigation, with multiple intelligence officials confirming to media outlets that authorities are examining the shooting as a possible act of international terrorism. The two Guardsmen wounded in the attack remain in the hospital in critical condition.

In an address to the nation Wednesday night, President Donald Trump called the shooting a “savage attack” and described how one Guardsman “was shot at point-blank range in a monstrous ambush-style attack just steps away from the White House.”

Trump said the attack was “A heinous assault… an act of evil and an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.”

He added, “The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard… Our entire country is lifting them up in prayer. As President of the United States, I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.”

During an afternoon press conference, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said, “This is a targeted shooting. One individual appeared to target these guardsmen. That individual has been taken into custody.” Federal authorities have not yet disclosed a motive.