In a social media post Friday afternoon, the agency said, “The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety.”
The suspect in the shooting has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is an Afghan national, per Breitbart News.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro identified the two West Virginia National Guardsmen who were targeted as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe.
According to the Breitbart News article:
The suspected shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who is from Afghanistan and entered the United States under former President Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome in September 2021 after the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, opened fire on the guardsmen near the Farragut West Metro Station, just blocks northwest of the White House, at around 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time, Pirro said.
Pirro said Lakanwal used a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver in the “ambush-style” and “targeted” attack.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Beckstrom had died.
In his address to the nation regarding the shooting, the president said, “This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity. Americans tonight are with those two West Virginian National Guard and their families.”
Lakanwal worked with the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the agency’s director John Ratcliffe said late Wednesday, per Breitbart News.
The outlet also noted, “Following the shooting, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency announced an immediate and indefinite halt to the ‘processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals’ pending a review of security and vetting protocols.”
Breitbart News
Read the full article .
