WASHINGTON (Realist English). President Donald Trump ordered a security reinforcement in the U.S. capital and called for a sweeping review of foreign nationals living in the country after two National Guard soldiers were shot late Wednesday just blocks from the White House. Authorities say the attack appeared to be targeted.
The two Guardsmen, deployed from West Virginia as part of a federal security mission, remain in critical condition, FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said. Law enforcement has taken a suspect into custody, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national residing in Washington state, though officials said they are still verifying his full background.
In a statement posted to Truth Social, Trump condemned the shooting as a “horrific and targeted assault” and vowed that the perpetrator would face the “steepest possible price.” He said the suspect entered the United States in September 2021 during the Afghanistan evacuation under the Biden administration, alleging inadequate vetting and calling the incident evidence of a broader security failure.
Trump said the country now faces “the single greatest national security threat” from what he described as millions of “unknown and unvetted foreigners,” adding that the administration would “re-examine every alien who entered from Afghanistan under Biden.”
“If they cannot love our country, we do not want them,” he said, emphasizing that the United States “will never bend or yield in the face of terror.”
Following the attack, Trump ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops into Washington. Nearly 2,200 personnel are currently assigned to the joint task force operating across the capital, according to federal figures.
The shooting occurred roughly two blocks northwest of the White House near a Metro station. Executive Assistant D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said nearby troops responded immediately after hearing gunfire, subdued the shooter and secured the scene. Videos posted on social media showed first responders performing CPR on one soldier and treating the other on a glass-covered sidewalk.
Initial confusion surrounded the incident when West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey briefly announced both soldiers had died, before retracting the statement due to “conflicting reports.”
Federal investigators continue to probe the motive behind the attack. Officials have not yet commented on whether the suspect had prior ties to extremist activity.