An Afghan national alleged to have shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington DC could face 15 years in prison if convicted.
The two soldiers were part of a "high-visibility patrol" at around 2.15pm local time yesterday near the White House when the incident occurred.
The suspect came around a corner and "ambushed" them, Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said at a press briefing on Thursday.
US Attorney for Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, today confirmed the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who she said could face 15 years behind bars.
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Ms Pirro said the suspect arrived in the States under Joe Biden's "Operation Allies Welcome", established in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children.
The US attorney said Lakanwal had driven his car roughly 3,000 miles from Washington state to Washington DC to allegedly carry out the attack.
The suspect has been charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and will also be charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
US Attorney for Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, said the suspect lived with his wife and 'we think' five children in Bellingham, Washington
|REUTERS
Ms Pirro told a press briefing: "He faces 15 years under the assault with intent to kill. We intend to continue monitoring what the charges will be, depending on the wellbeing of the guardsmen.
"We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree.
"But make no mistake - if they do not, that will certainly be the charge. Murder in the first degree."
"This is what happens in this country when people are allowed in who are not properly vetted," she added.
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The guards were shot in Washington DC close to the White House
|REUTERS
She described the soldiers as "the lines that separate a civilised society from a barbaric one".
Concluding her address, the US attorney issued a stark warning to the suspect.
"My message to the individual who committed these acts is you picked the wrong targets, the wrong city and the wrong city and you will be sorry for the violence and the evil that you perpetrated in our nation's capital," she said.
The injured soldiers have been named as Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom.
US Attorney for Columbia Jeanine Pirro confirmed the suspected gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal
|REUTERS
Donald Trump on Wednesday called for his government to re-examine Afghan immigrants who entered the US during the former President Joe Biden's administration.
The President called the shooting "an act of terror," saying the suspect came from Afghanistan in 2021.
"This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror," President Trump said.
"We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden."
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