Two National Guardsmen Shot in DC
A suspect, an Afghan national, is in custody.
AP (“2 National Guard members shot in an ambush attack just blocks from the White House“):
Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital were shot Wednesday afternoon just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence that the mayor described as a targeted attack.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said they were hospitalized in critical condition.
The rare shooting of National Guard members, on the day before Thanksgiving, comes as the presence of the troops in the nation’s capital and other cities around the country has been a flashpoint issue for months, fueling court fights and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration’s use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.
A suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
The 29-year-old suspect, an Afghan national, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.
WaPo (“Trump orders more troops to D.C. after gunman critically wounds 2 Guard soldiers“):
President Donald Trump ordered 500 more National Guard troops to the capital after two Guard soldiers were shot near the White House on Thanksgiving eve.
NBC News (“Trump says U.S. must ‘re-examine’ everyone who came from Afghanistan under Biden after National Guard shooting“):
President Donald Trump called for a “re-examination” of all Afghan nationals who came to the U.S. during the Biden administration, hours after an Afghan man was named as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X that the suspect came to the U.S. in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program designed to help Afghans who assisted U.S. forces and were facing a Taliban takeover.
“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said in an address Wednesday night in which he called the shooting an “act of terror.”
Shortly after his remarks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it was halting the processing of immigration from Afghanistan to the U.S.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” the agency, known as USCIS, said on X.
Given that more information is likely to come available soon, I’ll refrain from speculating on the motives of the shooter. Obviously, we all hope the wounded Guardsmen pull through. Whatever one thinks of their deployment to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital, they were simply doing their job.
As to Operation Allies Welcome, I fully support it. If anything, we were too slow and stingy in granting asylum to those whose lives were put in danger supporting the US mission in Afghanistan. Leaving their fate in the hands of the Taliban government would have been a death sentence.
That one of them committed a horrific crime is regrettable. But we let in some 200,000 under the program. If our vetting process prioritized speed over thoroughness, that would likely have been my instinct as well. It would be quite reasonable if this incident prompted a second look to see whether we missed any obvious red flags. It would be a shame, though, if this became an excuse to deny sanctuary to innocents escaping horrors of our making.
It will.
How did he get a gun?
ETA: And this, via the NYT:
“The gunman who shot and critically injured two National Guard members near the White House is an Afghan who worked with C.I.A.-backed military units during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, the agency said on Thursday.”
I have a hard time believing anything this admin says about anything.
@Jen:
In America? I figure it’s harder to not get a gun.
From Reuters:
Presented without comment.
@Kathy:
Yeah, it’s weird. One day, I woke up, and there was a stock AR propped against my nightstand. I had a Deputy Sheriff take it away.
The next morning, I awoke to find another one, but this one had a prism sight. And it was accompanied by a street sweeper!
I just gave up and kept them. I figured they would continue to multiply if I got rid of them. Plus, if they are with me, I can be sure that they won’t be used to kill anyone.
@Jen: Also from NYT this morning, the guy reportedly lived in the Seattle area and drove to DC planning to do this. But crime in DC will continue to be a theme.
Operation Put Our Military In Harm’s Way is beginning to work, I guess. And while they were hoping for someone would take the bait who they could claim to be Antifa, I don’t think they’re heartbroken that it was a Brown Person who did it.
Maybe it’s Operation Domestic Flypaper?
The administration has blood on its hands.
This saga has been a perfect illustration of the terrible sickness Trump has spread in America. Instead of mourning the injured, calling for Americans to unite in sympathy, and vowing to find out the reason for the attack and hold those responsible accountable, Trump instinctively thought “How can I blame Joe Biden and whip up hatred of Muslim immigrants?”
Lakanwal is the poster boy for the “Afghan allies” MAGAts lined up to accuse Biden of abandoning in 2021. Now they’re screaming to send them all back. And of course either ignoring or flat denying that it was the Trump regime that recently vetted him and approved his asylum claim.
@Sleeping Dog: In 2022:
Unanimous voice on MAGA websites today: “We told you they was a bunch of terrorists they never should of been allowed in send them all back immediately!”
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, has died of her injuries. RIP.