What we know about suspect of shooting near White House

Federal investigators have identified the suspect in shooting near the White House as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national living in Washington State, according to a Justice Department official who spoke anonymously. The attack, which officials described as a targeted ambush, left two National Guard soldiers critically wounded.

Law enforcement officials say the incident is being investigated as a terrorism-related attack. Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 through a special visa program for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the war. He later overstayed his visa and was in the country illegally, the official said.

The shooting occurred around 2:15 p.m. ET near the intersection of 17th and I streets NW, just a few blocks from the White House. The two service members, part of a high-visibility patrol deployed throughout Washington, were ambushed as the suspect came around a corner and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said.

National Guard troops nearby returned fire and subdued the shooter, who was taken into custody with gunshot wounds. The two wounded soldiers remain in critical condition at local hospitals, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser called the shooting a “targeted attack,” and authorities believe the suspect acted alone.

At the time of the attack, President Donald Trump was at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort for the Thanksgiving holiday. Vice President JD Vance was in Kentucky. The White House temporarily went into lockdown as agencies responded to the scene. Trump later condemned the shooter in a social media post and praised the National Guard, ordering an additional 500 Guard members to Washington. About 2,200 are already stationed in the city as part of the administration’s broader crackdown on crime and immigration in Democratic-led cities, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The shooting happened near Farragut Square, a busy downtown park surrounded by restaurants and offices. Witnesses described chaos as people ran for cover.

Mike Ryan, 55, said he heard what sounded like gunfire while walking to buy lunch. After fleeing half a block, he heard another round of shots. Returning to the area, he saw two Guard members lying on the ground as bystanders attempted to resuscitate one of them, while other troops had a suspect pinned down.

Another witness, Emma McDonald, saw one of the injured soldiers being taken away on a stretcher, his head covered in blood and an automated chest compression device attached.

National Guard soldiers from multiple states—including the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Alabama—have been deployed in Washington since Trump’s initial activation order in August, a move criticized by local leaders and Democrats. Trump has repeatedly claimed the Guard’s presence has eliminated crime in the capital, a statement that contradicts the city’s official crime data.

Reuters inputs