National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, attack identified

Washington, DC – Authorities successful the United States person identified the 2 National Guard members shot successful Washington, DC, successful what the FBI is investigating arsenic an enactment of “terrorism”.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro connected Thursday named 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe arsenic the West Virginia National Guard members who were changeable a time earlier, conscionable blocks from the White House.

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She said some work members had gone done country and were successful captious condition. They had been deployed to the US superior arsenic portion of what President Donald Trump has described arsenic an anticrime initiative.

“A lone gunman opened occurrence without provocation, ambush style, equipped with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver,” Pirro told reporters astatine a quality conference.

The attacker has been identified arsenic Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan nationalist who came to the US successful 2021 soon aft the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan.

Pirro said Lakanwal was a nonmigratory of Washington authorities and had driven crossed the state earlier the attack.

He has been charged with 3 counts of battle with intent to termination and possession of a firearm. He remains hospitalised aft sustaining wounds that officials said did not look to beryllium life-threatening.

Pirro, a erstwhile Fox News host, added the charges could beryllium upgraded if either of the National Guard members bash not survive.

Kash Patel, the manager of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said the onslaught was being investigated arsenic “terrorism” and a hunt warrant has been executed astatine Lakanwal’s home.

Speaking earlier connected Fox News, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the wounded unit were “fighting for their lives”.

“Everyone, commune contiguous for these 2 soldiers, these 2 Guardsmen, the antheral and woman,” she said. “But if thing happens – I volition archer you close now, I volition archer you aboriginal – we volition bash everything successful our powerfulness to question the decease punishment against that man.”

The onslaught came astatine a clip of heightened scrutiny implicit Trump’s determination to deploy the National Guard to Washington, DC, and different US cities.

Trump has said the deployment is needed to respond to precocious rates of transgression successful the US capital. Critics person decried the determination arsenic an incendiary amusement of unit retired of measurement with the needs of the national district.

A justice past week ruled that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard was amerciable but delayed enforcement of the determination until December 11.

After Thursday’s attack, the Trump medication rapidly ordered 500 much National Guard soldiers to Washington, DC, adding to the astir 2,200 subject members already stationed there.

Revetting Afghans

In the aftermath of the attack, the Trump medication pledged to “re-examine each azygous alien who has entered our state from Afghanistan nether [Former President Joe] Biden”.

The medication besides announced it was pausing each processing of “immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals”.

On Thursday, Trump medication officials continued to absorption connected the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was conducted aft a woody struck by Trump and the Taliban during the Republican leader’s archetypal term.

During the withdrawal, the Biden medication launched Operation Allies Welcome to rapidly relocate Afghans to the US, including those who had worked alongside US forces and Western entities successful Afghanistan for much than 2 decades.

About 77,000 Afghans came to the US nether the programme.

On Thursday, John Ratcliffe, the manager of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said successful a connection that the attacker had worked with the bureau “as a subordinate of a spouse force” successful the confederate Taliban stronghold of Kandahar earlier coming to the US.

The onslaught has sparked fearfulness for Afghan evacuees successful the US and those inactive seeking relocation from Afghanistan aft galore were already reeling from the Trump administration’s hardline restrictions connected refugees and asylum seekers.

Many Afghans who worked with US and Western forces look threats of reprisals from the Taliban government.

In a statement, Shawn VanDiver, the president of the AfghanEvac humanitarian advocacy group, urged “the media, elected leaders and decision-makers and different radical of power not to demonize the Afghan assemblage for the deranged prime this idiosyncratic made”.

Richard Bennett, the UN peculiar rapporteur connected the concern of quality rights successful Afghanistan, echoed that sentiment, saying the “entire Afghan assemblage indispensable not beryllium punished owed to the actions of 1 individual”.

“That would beryllium terribly unjust and implicit nonsense,” helium said. “Cool heads indispensable prevail.”