Wednesday’s attack appears to be latest terror plot by foreign national who entered the US on Biden’s watch
An Afghan national who entered the United States during the Biden administration allegedly shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday in what authorities described as a targeted attack, according to reports.
The guardsmen are reportedly in critical condition.
Reports identified the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is said to have entered the country in 2021 during the Biden administration. Little is known about Lakanwal, who reportedly used a handgun in the shooting. He reportedly entered the United States as part of former president Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome in the wake of the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.
The targeted attack comes as Democrats have assailed President Donald Trump for deploying the National Guard to police the nation’s capital. Earlier this week, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.) said she was concerned National Guardsmen may “shoot at American civilians.”
Violent crime incidents have fallen dramatically since Trump deployed the guard on Aug. 11. There have been 24 homicides in D.C. since then, compared to 61 during the same time frame last year.
Wednesday’s attack is not the only one carried out by a foreign national admitted during Biden’s term. In June, Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman attacked a Jewish event in Boulder, Colo., killing 1 and injuring 15 others. Soliman, who allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” during the attack, entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2022, but never left the country.
And in 2024, 27-year-old Afghan national Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi allegedly plotted to conduct an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS. Tawhedi is said to have entered the United States on a special immigrant visa within days of Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
The incident also comes days after Trump ordered a review of more than 230,000 refugees admitted to the United States under Biden. Trump’s order also pauses the processing of refugee applications submitted under Biden. According to the Middle East Institute, around 180,000 Afghan nationals were admitted into the United States after August 2021, when Biden pulled American troops out of Afghanistan.
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