Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were wounded “within eyeshot” of the White House on Wednesday afternoon and are in critical condition at separate hospitals. The Guardsmen were on “high visibility patrols” between 17th and High Street NW in Washington, DC when the incident occurred.
Both Guardsmen were initially reported as dead, but FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the two Guardsmen are alive, but in critical condition. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Populist Sentinel go out to these two heroes who were defending the streets of our Nation’s Capitol from the current crime wave in our major cities.
A suspect has been identified as 29-year old Afghan Rahmanullah Lakanwal. According to a tweet by Fox News Correspondent Brooke Taylor, the suspect was in the United States illegally. Lakanwal apparently arrived in the US during Operation Allies Welcome in 2021, and overstayed his visa.
President Trump Responds
President Trump took to Truth Social, condemning the attack. “God bless our Great National Guard, and all our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
The Leftist Media Responds
True to form, the leftist media has already taken to defending a man who killed two American service members who were doing their duty.
Andy Ngo: Bluesky Users Cheer Attack
“Don’t enforce fascism and you won’t get shot” said users on Bluesky in response to the attack. Senior Editor at The Post Millennial Andy Ngo shared images of Bluesky users supporting the attacker.
Report from Law Enforcement (Unverified)
A report from Mike Davis, an attorney and former Law Clerk for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, said that a law enforcement source informed him Lakanwal was born in 1996. Lakanwal reportedly shot a female guardsmen with a revolver, hitting her in the head. He then shot a nearby male guardsmen multiple times.
A nearby military officer, reportedly a Major, was unarmed and performing spot checks on his troops in that block. He heard the shots, turned to see the shooter, and took cover behind a nearby truck when the shooter saw him.
Lakanwal then approached and tried to kill the Major, but the Major fought back and started stabbing Lakanwal in the head with a pocket knife as the terrorist attempted to reload his revolver. Another nearby Guardsmen drew his pistol and reportedly shot Lakanwal twice, hitting him in the leg and buttocks.
According to the report, the Major heard the suspect shout “Allahu Akbar” when the shooting began.
A Disturbing Data Point
At about 4:30am on Thursday, Founder and Editor of RAIR Amy Mek reported that publicly available Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for “Rahmanullah Lakanwal” hours *before* the attack at 2:15 PM EST. Populist Sentinel has verified that there was a spike in searches for the name just before the attack at 11:56 AM and 1:32 PM on November 26, 2025.
Possible CIA Connections
Numerous reports indicate Lakanwal was part of the CIA-backed Kandahar Strike Force in Afghanistan.
“In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News in an exclusive.
US Customs and Immigration Service Halts Processing of Afghan Immigrant Requests
The US Customs and Immigration Service has halted the processing of all immigration requests for Afghan nationals, pending a review of security and vetting protocols.
This Thanksgiving Day, two American Guardsmen are fighting for their lives because our nation’s capital has become a test range for open-border failures that should never make it past the first layer of security—failures in vetting, failures in enforcement, and failures in basic immigration policy. The motive is still being investigated, and some claims circulating online remain unverified, but the verified outline is damning enough: a targeted daylight ambush near the White House, a suspect tied to the post-2021 Afghan evacuation pipeline, and a federal system now scrambling to explain how this happened.
The answer cannot be “thoughts and prayers” alone, nor can it be the reflexive impulse to excuse what is inexcusable—there must be full transparency from every agency involved, a public timeline of decisions, and immediate, serious reform of whatever policies or shortcuts put the public and our service members at risk. And to those cheering violence online: you’re not resisting tyranny—you’re applauding attempted murder, and you’re telling the world you’ve lost the moral argument before it even begins. Pray for these Guardsmen, and then demand accountability worthy of their sacrifice.
UPDATE: VICTIMS IDENTIFIED, SHOOTER CHARGED
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has charged Rahmanullah Lakanwal with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The two victims have been identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20 of the Army National Guard and Andrew Wolfe, 24, of the Air National Guard. Both service members remain in critical condition.
UPDATE: SARAH BECKSTROM HAS PASSED AWAY
The New York Post has reported that Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom has succumbed to her injuries.
“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now,” Trump said.
Our hearts at Populist Sentinel go out to her Gold Star Family this Thanksgiving. Specialist Beckstrom gave her life in the service of her country, and her sacrifice will not be forgotten.
