Investigations of National Guard shooting reveal suspect worked for CIA in Afghanistan

John Yang:

Tonight, investigators say the suspect in the brazen daylight shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., drove cross-country to carry out the attack, but they're still searching for a motive. The two victims remain in critical condition and the accused shooter is also in the hospital.

Prosecutors say the suspect, who's an Afghan national, will be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill. And the Trump administration is further restricting immigration in the wake of the attack.

Our coverage begins tonight with White House correspondent Liz Landers.

Liz Landers:

Caught on camera, the moment after an attack that shattered the pre-holiday calm near the White House, the suspect, already wounded, tackled to the pavement, surrounded by law enforcement. Within moments, officers take him into custody, ending what authorities describe as a deliberate ambush.

Just minutes earlier, officials say, he opened fire on two National Guard members as they waited at a Washington, D.C., bus stop, the victims, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, both from the West Virginia National Guard.

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia: They answered the call. They took the charge. They volunteered. They put their lives on the line for people they don't even know.

Liz Landers:

Law enforcement identified the suspect as an Afghan national and said he drove across the country from his home north of Seattle with a plan to commit the attack.

Jeanine Pirro:

The suspect he has been identified is Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who entered the United States under Biden's Operation Allies Welcome, a program following the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Liz Landers:

The alleged shooter used a .357 revolver, shooting a Guard member and then firing again after the soldier fell to the ground. The shooter then turned to fire at the second Guard member.

The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, confirmed the suspect had worked with an agency-backed paramilitary unit during the U.S. war in Afghanistan and entered the United States through a Biden era immigration program for Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover.

President Trump framed the shooting as an act of terror and launched a broadside against immigration, vowing to redouble his mass deportation efforts.

Donald Trump, President of the United States: We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden. And we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country.

Liz Landers:

He also ordered 500 more National Guard troops to Washington, in addition to about 2,000 already there, though it was unclear when they would arrive or where they would come from.

The agency that oversees immigration in the United States says it had stopped processing immigration applications from Afghanistan effective immediately.

Shawn Vandiver, Founder, AfghanEvac:

This is one deranged man committing terrible crimes against our service members, and he should be held accountable. The entire Afghan community should not be held accountable for this.

Liz Landers:

Shawn Vandiver is the president of AfghanEvac, a U.S.-based nonprofit working with Afghan refugees. He said the Trump administration was already working on closing pathways for legal Afghan migrants even before this incident.

Shawn Vandiver:

On day one, they shut down the ongoing relocation through our safest, most secure immigration pathway in history. And it's just so worrisome to see them jump to conclusions.

Liz Landers:

According to AfghanEvac, the accused gunman was evacuated by the U.S. military in August 2021 after the fall of Kabul. He first arrived under humanitarian parole after a thorough vetting process under the Biden administration and was granted asylum earlier this year by the Trump administration.

Shawn Vandiver:

I don't think the vetting is where the failure occurred here. I think this man is being used as a political cudgel by the administration to impact an entire community. And that's not fair. If a school — if a shooter is from Missouri, they're not trying to do something that impacts all Missouri. This is prejudice disguised as policy.

Liz Landers:

The director of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services said today in a statement that he is directing a — quote — "full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern."

When "PBS News Hour" asked which of these countries will be impacted, the administration pointed us, John, to an executive order listing 19 countries, including Afghanistan and Yemen.

John Yang:

Liz, the National Guard's been in D.C. for months now. They came in August. There's a court fight going on about this. What's going on there?

Liz Landers:

This has been a contentious issue for months now here in the nation's capital.

The D.C. deployment started back in August, when the president declared a crime emergency here. That has now been extended several times since. The president does have the ability, he has the right as the commander in chief to mobilize the National Guard in D.C. because it is a federal district.

However, the D.C. attorney general has been challenging this deployment in federal court, saying he's overstepping his authority. Last week, a federal district judge ruled in favor of the attorney general here in Washington, saying that the deployment was likely illegal and that it violated the city's rights to self-government.

That ruling, though, was paused for three weeks to give the Trump administration time to respond and appeal, which they have.

John Yang:

White House correspondent Liz Landers, thank you very much.