The Afghan national accused of ambushing two West Virginia National Guard members on Wednesday worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, Fox News reported.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly shot the guardsmen, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe and 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, in the head with a Smith and Wesson revolver at the Farragut West Metro Station in Washington, D.C., roughly a mile from the White House. Lakanwal, who aided the CIA, arrived in the United States shortly after the August 2021 American withdrawal from Afghanistan, where he worked in Kandahar Province, Fox News reported.
“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,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News.
EXCLUSIVE: The Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard members worked with various US government entities, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, #Afghanistan @CIADirector #NationalGaurd https://t.co/4b7eYZNVzx
— Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) November 27, 2025
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced in a Wednesday post on X that it was pausing the processing of immigration requests from Afghanistan.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” USCIS posted. “The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
Lakanwal shouted “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire with a revolver, journalist Julio Rojas reported. One guardsman on the scene stabbed Lakanwal with a pocketknife, while another one fired multiple shots that struck the assailant, according to Rojas.
Other Afghan nationals have been involved in terrorist plots. FBI agents arrested 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in October 2024 and charged him in connection with a plot to carry out an attack with two AK-47-style semiautomatic rifles.
President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department to restore public safety in the District on Aug. 11 after Department of Government Efficiency staffer Edward Coristine, known by the moniker “Big Balls,” was severely injured when he tried to stop a carjacking.
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