Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House, had worked with multiple U.S. government entities, including the CIA, during his time as part of a partner force in Afghanistan, according to information provided to Fox News Digital [1].
Lakanwal, 29, arrived in the United States in September 2021, one month after the Afghanistan withdrawal conducted under the Biden-Harris administration.
He entered the country through “Operation Allies Welcome,” the program created to bring Afghan nationals to the U.S. following the evacuation.
BREAKING: Afghan National Guard shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal is an ILLEGAL migrant let in under Biden and Mayorkas’ “Operation Allies Welcome,” per Fox
He was allowed to come with a “visa” – then he overstayed it.
SHUT IT ALL OFF! Send in the military to deport thousands… pic.twitter.com/m6eoxwkE0y [2]
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 27, 2025 [3]
Intelligence sources told Fox News Digital that Lakanwal had a prior working relationship with various U.S. agencies due to his role with a partner force in Kandahar.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital that the administration cited that prior work as justification for permitting him to enter the country in 2021.
“In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation,” Ratcliffe said.
Ratcliffe also stated: “The individual—and so many others—should have never been allowed to come here. Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.”
He added: “God bless our brave troops.”
Fox News Digital learned that the FBI has taken the lead on the investigation into the shooting. Multiple senior intelligence officials told the outlet that the incident is being treated as a possible act of international terrorism.
FBI officials confirmed that the two Guardsmen remain in critical condition.
President Donald Trump addressed the nation online late Wednesday.
He called the shooting a “savage attack” and described how one of the Guardsmen “was shot at point-blank range in a monstrous ambush-style attack just steps away from the White House.”
Trump said the “heinous assault” was “an act of evil and act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.”
Trump also said: “The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families. The love of our entire country is pouring out for them, and we are lifting them up in our prayers as we are filled with anguish and grief for those who were shot, we’re also filled with righteous anger and ferocious resolve. As President of the United States, I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.”
“The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families…
We will make America totally safe again, and we will bring the perpetrator of this barbaric attack to swift and certain justice.” — President Trump pic.twitter.com/zOkJGZyGmk [4]
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 27, 2025 [5]
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a Wednesday news conference that the attack was aimed specifically at the Guardsmen.
“This is a targeted shooting,” Bowser said.
“One individual who appeared to target these guardsmen. That individual has been taken into custody.”
JUST IN: Even the DEMOCRAT mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, just admitted this was a TARGETED ATTACK on National Guard troops
Traitors like the Seditious Six should be held accountable.
THEIR LIES continue to cause this. Over and over. pic.twitter.com/CshtDMwOjN [6]
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 26, 2025 [7]