White House shooting highlights: Trump says lax migration policies ‘single greatest threat’ in US

Updates to the live blog have ended.

• After two National Guard members were shot near a metro station roughly two blocks away from the White House, a 29-year old Afghan national was taken into custody.

• The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had entered the US in September, 2021 under the Operation Allies Welcome program, meant to evacuate and resettle tens of thousands of Afghans after the US withdrawal from the country.

• The two National Guard members have been hospitalised and are in a critical condition, FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

• US President Trump, in a video message, said lax migration policies are the “since greatest threat” which the US is facing. He alled the shooting of National Guard members near the White House an “act of terror”, and said his administration would "reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan”.

• The USCIS said the processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals will be stopped immediately.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called for “zero tolerance for violence — of any kind — against the brave men and women in uniform who selflessly serve” the US.

“The shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C. is horrific and unacceptable. Jen and I are praying for the service members, their families, and the entire National Guard community,” Newsom said in a post on X.

White House Shooting LIVE: The commander of the Joint Task Force for the District of Columbia offered “thoughts and prayers” to the families of the two National Guard members who were injured in the shooting incident near the White House on Wednesday.

The Joint Task Force — DC is the National Guard office which organises the Guard mission to Washington, DC.

“On behalf of myself, and the entire Task Force, our thoughts and prayers are with the National Guardsmen and National Guard families who are going into a Thanksgiving Holiday with a burden that I wouldn’t wish on anyone," US Army Col. Larry Doane said in a statement on X.

After the suspect in shooting incident in DC was found to be an Afghan national, President Donald Trump said lax migration policies were the “single greatest national security threat” in the US. “No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival,” he said in a video released on social media.

He further called the shooting an “act of terror” and a “heinous assault”. This comes even as the Trump administration is looking to reshape the US immigration system and increase scrutiny of migrants.

The USCIS, after the incident, stopped the processing of immigration visa requests from all Afghan nationals.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has said that the processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals will be “stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”

“he protections and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,” the agency said in a post on X.

White House Shooting LIVE: Regarding the shooting incident near the White House, executive assistant DC police chief Jeffery Carroll said that the investigators have no other suspects “at this point.”

“It appears to be a lone gunman that raised a firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard," Carroll said, while adding that it wasn't immediately clear if it was one of the guard members who shot the suspect.

The suspect in the shooting of the National Guard members in Washington, DC has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.

The suspect is an Afghan national who entered the US in September, 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program started under the Biden administration, AP reported.

The program evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after US withdrawal from their country, and brought roughly 76,000 people to America.

After the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House, former US president Barack Obama took to social media platform X to condemn the incident.

“Violence has no place in America. Michelle and I are praying for the servicemembers shot in Washington, DC today, and send our love to their families as they enter this holiday season under the most tragic of circumstances,” Obama said.

After the shooter opened fire at the National Guard members, other troops in the area heard gunfire and rushed to the site of the incident. They held down the gunman after he was shot, Jeffrey Carroll, an executive assistant DC police chief, said.

Carroll said that the suspect “came around the corner” and suddenly started firing at the troops, while citing the video reviewed by investigators.

The Donald Trump-led administration has ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington in the wake of the shooting incident near the White House. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that Trump had asked him to send the troops, AP reported.

Two members of the National Guard were shot roughly two blocks away from the White House near a metro station on Wednesday.

Following the incident, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey had initially said the two members of the National Guard who were shot on Wednesday had died. However, he walked back the statement later, saying his office had received “conflicting reports” on their condition, AP reported.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and FBI Director Kash Patel have said that the two injured members are currently hospitalised and are in a critical condition.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has called the incident a “targeted shooting”. Bowser further said that the two National Guard members who were shot are in hospitalised and are currently in a critical condition.

United States President Donald Trump has called the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House in Washington, DC an “act of terror.” “This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” Trump said.

He further said his administration would “reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan”, alleging that they had entered the US during his predecessor Joe Biden's term.

The shooting took place near a metro station in Washington, roughly two blocks northwest of the White House. Jeffrey Carroll, an executive assistant DC police chief, said the shooter "came around the corner” and suddenly opened fire at the troops.

The shooter has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, officials told AP. Lakanwal is believed to be a 29-year-old Afghan national, who entered the United States in September, 2021 and has been staying in Washington since.

White House Shooting LIVE: Two members of the West Virginia National Guard, who had been deployed to Washington DC, were shot near the White House on Wednesday.

The injured troops are in a critical condition and have been hospitalised, FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said. According to Jeffrey Carroll, an executive assistant DC police chief, no motive for the shooting has been established yet, the Associated Press reported.