Washington DC Shooting Live Updates: US stops immigration requests from Afghan nationals as Trump calls DC shooting on National Guard troops an ‘act of terror’

Investigators led by the FBI's joint terrorism task force sought clues on Thursday to what drove an Afghan immigrant to open fire on two National Guard soldiers mere blocks from the White House in what officials called an "ambush" attack on Thanksgiving eve.

The two soldiers, part of a militarized law enforcement mission ordered by President Donald Trump months ago and challenged in court by officials of the District of Columbia, were hospitalized in critical condition.

The suspect, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire before he was arrested, was identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.

Trump, who was at his resort in Florida at the time of the attack, released a prerecorded video statement late on Wednesday calling the shooting "an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror." He said his administration would "re-examine" all Afghans who came to the US during Joe Biden's presidency.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency later said that it has halted processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely, "pending further review of security and vetting protocols."

- Reuters

Stacy Walters said she was in a car when she heard two gunshots and saw people running. Almost instantly, law enforcement swarmed the area. “It’s such a beautiful day. Who would do this? And we’re getting ready for the holidays?”

Emma McDonald, who exited a metro station just after the shots were fired, said she and a friend sought safety with others in a cafe. McDonald told AP that minutes later she saw first responders rolling a stretcher carrying a National Guard member whose head was covered in blood.

Police tape cordoned off the scene, and fire and police vehicle lights flashed and helicopter blades thudded overhead. Agents from the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were there, and National Guard troops stood sentry nearby. At least one helicopter landed on the National Mall.

- AP

After the shootout in Washington DC on Wednesday which "critically injured" two National Guard members, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced to immediately halt all immigration requests for Afghan nationals pending further review, as the gunman suspect is identified to be 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.

Informing about the decision, the USCIS in a post on X said, "Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission."

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has blamed former President Joe Biden administration's immigration policies as the reason behind the shooting in Washington DC on Wednesday, which left two National Guard members "critically wounded."

Noem followed in what President Donald Trump also said in his address that the suspect gunman, behind the shootings near the White House, came to United States from Afghanistan in 2021.

"The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration," Noem wrote in a post on X.

US President Donald Trump, in his address on the Washington DC shooting, condemned the act and termed it a “heinous assault” and “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.”

In his address, Trump said, "My great fellow Americans, earlier today on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, two members of the National Guard serving in Washington, D.C. were shot at point blank range in a monstrous, ambush-style attack just steps away from the White House...This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror...The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families."

Former US President Barack Obama has said that "violence has no place in America" amid the shooting that took place in Washington DC on Wednesday, wherein two National Guard members have been critically injured and the suspect, who also received gunshot wounds, remains in hospital.

In a post on X, Obama wrote, "Violence has no place in America. Michelle and I are praying for the servicemembers shot in Washington, DC today, and send our love to their families as they enter this holiday season under the most tragic of circumstances."

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has said that President Donald Trump has asked him to deploy an additional 500 National Guard members in Washington DC following the shootout near the White House that has critically injured two members of the troops.

A 29-year-old man named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is from Afghanistan and entered the United States in 2021, is believed to be the suspect gunman behind the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington DC on Wednesday, multiple reports said.

The two National Guard members who were shot remain in a critical condition, officials said. The suspect, believed to be Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was also shot during the exchange of fire and is being treated at a hospital, police have said.