Shooting of guard blocks away from White House an 'Act of Terror' - Trump
A police officer secures the area as law-enforcement officials visit the crime scene of a shooting in downtown Washington, DC, on November 26, 2025. On November 26, Police in Washington said they had detained a suspect after two National Guard troops were shot blocks away from the White House. FBI director Kash Patel said the two Guard troops are in critical condition.
Image: Brendan Smialowski / AFP
Investigators led by the FBI’s joint terrorism task force are looking into what drove a suspected Afghan national to open fire on two National Guardsmen, mere blocks from the White House.
Graphic shows details of the attack.
Image: Graphic News
The suspect, who was wounded in the exchange of gunfire before being taken into custody, has been identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national.
The two soldiers, both from West Virginia, remain in critical condition following the attack. Officials said Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era programme designed to admit Afghans fleeing their country after the Taliban took power.
President Donald Trump, who was at his Florida resort at the time, released a prerecorded video statement late Wednesday, calling the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror”.
Trump added that his administration would “re-examine” all Afghans admitted to the US during President Biden’s tenure.
Graphic News