2 National Guard members shot in D.C. near White House

By Washington Post staff

Two West Virginia National Guard members were shot just outside the White House complex in downtown Washington on Wednesday afternoon, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said on X.

Morrisey initially said both Guard members were killed, but he later said he was getting “conflicting reports” about their condition.

“We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information,” he wrote. “Our prayers are with these brave service members, their families, and the entire Guard community.”

The shooting happened at the corner of 17th and I streets NW, and three gunshot victims were transported to the hospital, according to D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo. By 3 p.m., D.C. police said they had one suspect in custody.

The believed suspect has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, whose last known location prior to the shooting, according to the Seattle Times, was Bellingham, Washington. Lakanwal is an Afghanistan immigrant, according to CNN.

FBI identified Lakanwal based pm fingerprints, CNN reported, citing “multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.

At the corner of 17th and I streets NW, dozens of police cars filled the roads as officers roped off the sidewalk with yellow police tape and onlookers stood watching Farragut Square’s park area. National Guard members stood guarding the park.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post Wednesday that the agency is “engaged and assisting” with the investigation into the shooting.

Sen. Jim Justice , R-W.V., said in a statement on social media that he is staying in “close contact” with the West Virginia National Guard and federal law enforcement.

Preliminary reports indicate there may have been an exchange of gunfire between a suspect armed with a rifle and at least one National Guard member, according to two officials who were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. Police recovered a rifle at the scene, the officials said.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the shooting had “no known direction of interest towards the White House other than the location at this time.” Secret Service members at the scene did not fire shots, he said. National Guard troops are often posted at the Farragut North and West Metro stops near where the shooting happened.

While on patrol in D.C., members of the National Guard have been verbally threatened on numerous occasions, according to court records.

One night in late August, for example, troops in Northwest Washington were told by a man: “These are our streets” and “I’ll kill you.” Police later found a handgun in his waistband.

Less than a week later, troops from Mississippi at Capitol South Metro station handcuffed a man who had allegedly been stealing hats off train passengers’ heads. The man threatened to kill them, according to the police report, spat in the face of one and reached for the gun of another.

The next day, troops at Eastern Market Metro station told local police that someone had walked up to them and said, “You know the punishment for treason is” and that he was going to kill them.

The White House was under lockdown after the shooting, but it has now reopened to those with security passes, a White House official confirmed to the Washington Post. The president remains in Palm Beach, Florida, and has returned to Mar-a-Lago for the evening after golfing today.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it briefly grounded flights at Reagan National Airport at about 3 p.m. Wednesday after the shooting, as a D.C. police helicopter circled near the White House.

About a dozen inbound flights circled over Maryland and Virginia for about 30 minutes. Safety rules put in place after January’s deadly crash involving a regional jet and an Army Black Hawk near the airport mean airliners often cannot land when helicopters are flying nearby.

An FAA bulletin issued at 3:11 p.m. halted flights from departing for National, citing “security.” The pause was lifted at 3:30 p.m. but the FAA said some flights were still delayed because of the security situation.Spokesman-Review staff contributed to this report.