Authorities to Hold Press Conference After National Guard Members Shot Near White House

Authorities are set to hold a press conference Thursday morning after two National Guard members from West Virginia remain in critical condition after a gunman opened fire on them in an apparent “targeted shooting” near the White House, officials said.

The gunfire broke out around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, when the shooter rounded a corner near the Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C., raised his arm with the weapon, and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said.

Other National Guard members quickly responded and helped subdue the suspected shooter, Carroll said.

“They heard the gunfire and they actually were able to intervene and to hold down the suspect after he had been shot on the ground,” Carroll said of the responding Guard members.

Law enforcement officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, are scheduled to hold a news conference at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is expected to be present.

The White House was briefly put on lockdown on Wednesday, but the order was lifted at about 5 p.m. President Donald Trump and the first lady are in Florida, where they are spending Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago club.

The suspected gunman has been identified by law enforcement as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

Lakanwal is believed to be from Afghanistan and came to the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted asylum in April 2025 under the Trump administration, according to three law enforcement sources.

Several sources told ABC News that the FBI is investigating the shooting as a potential act of international terrorism, suggesting authorities are trying to determine if it may have been inspired by an international terrorist organization.

“[The suspect] would have been vetted against classified and unclassified holdings when he came here and as part of the asylum process,” said ABC News contributor John Cohen, who was the former head of intelligence for the Department of Homeland Security and a former U.S. counterterrorism coordinator. “He was actually granted asylum under the Trump administration … This does raise the question whether the administration is focusing enough on terrorism threats versus civil immigration enforcement.”

The National Guard was deployed to the nation’s capital as part of Trump’s federal takeover of the city in August. According to the most recent update, there were 2,188 Guard personnel assigned to D.C.

On Tuesday, during the traditional turkey pardoning at the White House, Trump touted his administration’s takeover of D.C. streets. He said it was “one of our most unsafe places anywhere in the United States. It is now considered a totally safe city.”

“You could walk down any street in Washington and you’re going to be just fine. And I want to thank the National Guard. I want to thank you for the job you’ve done here is incredible,” Trump said at the event.

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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