Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan who was among the suspects in the shooting near the White House on November 26, had previously worked with U.S. authorities in Afghanistan, including the CIA. This information was disclosed by John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, and reported by CNN.
As Ratcliffe noted, Lakanwal's potential relocation to the U.S. in September 2021 was due to his collaboration with U.S. forces in Kandahar, which ended after the withdrawal of troops from the country under the leadership of the 46th President Joe Biden.
According to Reuters, Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. as part of a special program created for resettling Afghans who assisted U.S. forces and feared persecution from the Taliban. As part of this initiative, more than 70,000 people were resettled to the States.
The District Attorney of Washington, Janine Pirro, reported that Lakanwal lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children. Before the incident, he traveled across the country by car, moving from west to east.
He has been charged with armed assault with intent to kill, but if one of the injured National Guard soldiers dies, the charge will be upgraded to first-degree murder, the prosecutor clarified.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in an interview with Fox News that she intends to bring terrorism charges against Lakanwal and seek "at least" life imprisonment for him.
The shooting occurred on November 26, resulting in two National Guard soldiers being injured, and the suspect himself was wounded by return fire. All the injured are currently in the hospital.
In light of the incident, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has suspended processing all requests related to Afghan citizens indefinitely.
