Federal officials on Thursday morning revealed more details about the violent shooting 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 for the nation’s capital, identified the two members of the West Virginia National Guard wounded as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolf, 24.
The shooting took place around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday near the Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C.
Pirro said the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly drove across country from Washington state and targeted the Guard members.
The suspect, an Afghan national, allegedly ambushed the Guard members, opening fire with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver, she said.
Other National Guard members quickly responded and helped subdue the suspected shooter after being shot by a Guard member.
Pirro said that the suspect will be charged on several counts including assault with intent to arm and criminal possession of a weapon. She noted that those charges could change depending on the condition of the wounded Guard members.
The White House was briefly put on lockdown on Wednesday but that the order was lifted at about 5 p.m. President Donald Trump and the first lady are in Florida, where they are spending Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago club.
The suspected gunman has been identified by law enforcement as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
Lakanwal is believed to be from Afghanistan and came to the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration, the sources said. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted asylum in April 2025, under the Trump administration, according to three law enforcement sources.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 26: Members of the U.S. Secret Service responds to a shooting near the White House on November 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. According to reports, two National Guardsmen from West Virginia were shot blocks from the White House. A suspect is being detained at a local hospital.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“He previously worked with the USG, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” CIA director John Ratcliffe said on Thursday.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI is investigating the shooting as a potential act of international terrorism, with sources telling ABC News authorities are trying to determine if it may have been inspired by an international terrorist organization.
“[The suspect] would have been vetted against classified and unclassified holdings when he came here and as part of the asylum process,” said ABC News contributor John Cohen, who was the former head of intelligence for the Department of Homeland Security and a former U.S. counterterrorism coordinator. “He was actually granted asylum under the Trump administration … This does raise the question whether the administration is focusing enough on terrorism 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 in August. According to the most recent update, there were 2,188 Guard personnel assigned to D.C.
On Tuesday, during the traditional turkey pardoning at the White House, Trump touted his administration’s takeover of D.C. streets. He said it was “one of our most unsafe places anywhere in the United States. It is now considered a totally safe city.”
“You could walk down any street in Washington and you’re going to be just fine. And I want to thank the National Guard. I want to thank you for the job you’ve done here is incredible,” Trump said at the event.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
