D.C. National Guard shooting investigation live updates as new details emerge about suspect
Too soon to say what motive is, U.S. attorney says
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said it was too soon to say what the possible motive was for the shooting.
“It’s too soon to say what the motive is, but there are definitely areas that we’re looking into, but not ready to say,” Pirro said.
Suspect drove across country from Washington state, U.S. attorney says
The suspect had been living in Bellingham, Washington, and drove across the country to Washington, D.C., before the attack, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said during a news conference Thursday.
Suspect shot Guard member then took her weapon and continued shooting, sources say
The two National Guard members who were wounded were posted outside a metro station when the gunman opened fire without warning in what law enforcement sources described as a “clear ambush” and “calculated attack.”
The first victim — a female Guard member — was struck immediately and collapsed where she stood, the sources said. She sustained at least two gunshot wounds during the ambush.
The suspect, who was wielding a handgun, had four rounds in his firearm initially, sources said. After he fired them, he then took the fallen Guardswoman’s weapon and used it to continue shooting, striking the second Guard member, the sources said.
A third Guardsman stabbed the suspect with a pocketknife, while a fourth returned fire and shot the suspect multiple times, ending the attack.
The wounded Guard members were deputized for the deployment but were not operating as law enforcement and did not have arrest powers, the sources said. They were stationed outside the metro stop as part of a high-visibility foot patrol that consisted of presence-based security, not active policing, the sources explained.
By Nicole Sganga and Jennifer Jacobs
Suspect in shooting not cooperating with authorities, sources say
The suspect detained in the shooting of two National Guard members is not cooperating with authorities at this time, law enforcement sources told CBS News Wednesday night.
Multiple law enforcement officials previously identified him as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the U.S. in 2021.
CIA confirms shooting suspect worked with the agency as part of a partner force
A CIA spokesperson told CBS News on Thursday that the Afghan suspect in the shooting “previously worked with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021” following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In a separate statement, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said “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. This individual — and so many others — should have never been allowed to come here. Our citizens and servicemembers deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden Administration’s catastrophic failures. God Bless our brave troops.”
Suspect led Afghan special forces unit that worked with U.S. troops, former colleague says
CBS News has learned that the Afghan suspect in the shooting led a team in the former Afghan national armed forces that worked directly with U.S. and British forces during the two-decade war in the country.
According to a former Afghan commando who spoke with CBS News on Thursday, Rahmanullah Lakanwal led a unit of Afghan special forces in the south of the country and worked closely with the international troops.
The former commando told CBS News that Lakanawal was left deeply troubled by the death of a close friend and fellow Afghan commander in 2024, whom he said had unsuccessfully sought asylum in the U.S.
Suspect detained in D.C. shooting was granted asylum earlier this year, official says
A Department of Homeland Security official told CBS News the suspect detained in the D.C. shooting of two National Guard members was paroled into the U.S. on humanitarian grounds in 2021. Federal authorities have identified him as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.
That was the main legal mechanism the Biden administration used to welcome tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Lakanwal was admitted to the U.S. in September of that year.
Lakanwal later applied for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2024 and his application was granted in 2025, the official said. But his request for a green card, which is tied to the asylum grant, is pending.
As such, he is technically an asylee as of now and is not in the U.S. illegally.
U.S. pauses processing of all immigration applications for Afghan nationals following shooting
The Trump administration has paused the processing of all immigration applications for Afghan nationals following Wednesday’s shooting of two National Guard members, officials said, after the suspect detained in the shooting was identified as an Afghan national.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Wednesday night that it’s enacting an indefinite pause on the processing of all immigration applications filed by Afghan nationals.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” the USCIS statement obtained by CBS News reads. “The protections and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
The Department of Homeland Security has identified the shooting suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who DHS says was admitted to the United States in September 2021, a month after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” President Trump said in an address Wednesday night.
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