Major update as White House goes into lockdown after two National Guards are shot in savage attack
The act of violence has been described by Washington mayor Muriel Bowser as a 'targeted attack'
An update has been issued after two US National Guard members deployed in Washington DC were shot just blocks from the White House.
FBI director Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the members of the West Virginia National Guard were in critical condition in hospital.
As per the BBC, police confirmed a lone suspect opened fire on the two people on Wednesday afternoon (26 November), before being subdued by other National Guard nearby who had heard the gunfire.
Jeffrey Carroll, an executive assistant DC police chief, said investigators had no information on a motive, however, Bowser told reporters: "This was a targeted shooting."
Advert
Carrol said the assailant 'came around the corner' and immediately started firing at the troops, citing video reviewed by investigators.
Meanwhile, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially said the troops had died, but later said his office was 'receiving conflicting reports' about their condition.
A suspect who was in custody was also shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement source.
US President Donald Trump, who was in Florida at the time of the attack, has claimed the alleged gunman was an Afghan national who entered America in September 2021.
CBS News has since reported that the suspect has allegedly been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington after the shooting and defence secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump asked him to send the extra troops.
Nearly 2,200 have been assigned to the joint taskforce operating in the city, according to the government’s latest update.
Social media video showed first responders performing CPR on one of the troops and treating the other on a glass-covered sidewalk.
More than 300 West Virginia National Guard members were deployed to Washington in August and last week, about 160 volunteered to extend their deployment until the end of the year while the others returned to West Virginia.
The presence of the National Guard in the nation’s capital, Washington DC, has been a debate for months as the Trump administration has been using the military to combat what officials have called an out-of-control crime problem.
Following the attack, the president said in a post on Truth Social: "The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price. God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement.
"These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!"
Topics: Crime, US News, Donald Trump, News, Politics
Madison Burgess