Authorities are scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday morning after two members of the West Virginia National Guard remained in critical condition after a gunman opened fire on them in an apparent “targeted shooting” near the White House, officials said.
The shooting began about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, when the shooter turned a corner near the Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C., raised his gun arm and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Department Executive Deputy Chief Jeffery Carroll said.
Other National Guard members responded quickly and helped subdue the suspected shooter, Carroll said.
“They heard the gunshots and were actually able to intervene and restrain the suspect after he was shot on the ground,” Carroll said of the Guard members who responded.
Law enforcement officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, are scheduled to hold a news conference at 9 a.m. ET Thursday at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington. Federal Prosecutor Jeanine Pirro is expected to be present.
The White House was briefly locked down Wednesday, but the order was lifted around 5 p.m. President Donald Trump and the first lady are in Florida, where they are spending Thanksgiving at their Mar-a-Lago club.
The alleged gunman has been identified by law enforcement as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
Lakanwal is believed to be from Afghanistan and arrived in the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration, 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 United States Secret Service respond to a shooting near the White House on November 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were reportedly shot a few blocks from the White House. A suspect is being held at a local hospital.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“He previously worked with the United States government, including the CIA, as a member of an associated force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Thursday.
Multiple sources told ABC News that the FBI is investigating the shooting as a possible act of international terrorism, suggesting authorities are trying to determine whether it may have been inspired by an international terrorist organization.
“[The suspect] “He would have been screened against classified and unclassified properties when he came here and as part of the asylum process,” said ABC News contributor John Cohen, former Department of Homeland Security intelligence chief and former US counterterrorism coordinator. “He was actually granted asylum under the Trump administration… This raises the question of whether the administration is focusing enough on terrorist 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. As of the most recent update, there were 2,188 Guard troops assigned to D.C.
On Tuesday, during the traditional turkey pardon at the White House, Trump touted his administration’s takeover of the streets of DC. He said it was “one of the most unsafe places in the United States. It is now considered a totally safe city.”
“You could walk down any street in Washington and you’ll be fine. And I want to thank the National Guard. I want to thank them for the job they’ve done here, which is incredible,” Trump said at the event.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
