Two National Guard Members Shot in Ambush Near the White House in Washington, Afghan Suspect Subdued at the Scene
At about 2:13 p.m. on November 26, 2025, at 17th and I Streets, NW, near the Farragut West Metro Station in Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the White House, a gunman opened fire without provocation on two National Guard members on duty. Fellow guardsmen at the scene responded immediately, engaged and subdued the suspect. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia described the attack as an ambush-style shooting.
The two guardsmen shot were members of the West Virginia National Guard: Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, who were serving in the capital as part of the federal law-enforcement deployment there. The suspect was also injured during the shooting and was taken to a local hospital, where he was being treated and held under guard.
The Department of Justice said the suspect is Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who resided in Bellingham, Washington. According to court documents, he had driven from the state of Washington to the District of Columbia.
The case is being investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. The charges are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美国联邦调查局总部J. Edgar Hoover大楼（资料照片）。ajay_suresh摄，CC BY 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons；联邦固定图库同源图。 / Photo: The J. Edgar Hoover Building, headquarters of the FBI in Washington (file photo). By ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; federal fixed image library image.
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