Trump says Afghan man behind shooting near White House

• Trump labeled the shooting of two Guardsmen near the White House as an “act of terror.”
• The suspect, an Afghan evacuee, was taken into custody and is also injured.
• USCIS halted all Afghan-related immigration processing after Trump’s announcement.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused an Afghan evacuee of carrying out the shooting that critically injured two National Guard soldiers near the White House, labeling the attack “an act of terror.”

His remarks, delivered in a short video statement, immediately pulled together three politically volatile themes: immigration, domestic military deployments, and the fallout from the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Trump said the mid-day shooting, which erupted just steps from a busy metro station, was “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” adding, “It was a crime against our entire nation.” He confirmed that the man arrested at the scene was “a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan,” asserting that he had arrived in 2021 “on those infamous flights” during the chaotic evacuation following the Taliban’s takeover.

The attack comes at a moment when Trump is facing lawsuits and pushback over his decision to station troops in several Democrat-run cities, including Washington, Los Angeles, and Memphis. Critics argue the deployments expand executive power beyond legal limits. The shooting is likely to intensify scrutiny of this anti-crime campaign, which has brought armed Guardsmen into central Washington.

Trump also used the incident to renew his hard-line immigration stance, saying, “We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan” during the Biden administration. He added, “We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country, if they can’t love our country, we don’t want them.”

Shortly after Trump’s address, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a sweeping response, “Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”

Authorities provided additional details about the shooting, describing a sudden, targeted attack. “He ambushed his victims,” said Jeffery Carroll, assistant chief of the Washington police. The suspect “came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard members.”

FBI Director Kash Patel reported both guardsmen remained in “critical condition.” Trump said the suspect was also injured, adding he would “pay a very steep price.”

Witnesses described a chaotic scene as gunfire rang out. Angela Perry, 42, recounted hearing several shots while waiting at a traffic light with her children, “You could see National Guard running toward the metro with their weapons drawn.”

Emergency crews flooded the area, helicopters circled overhead, and heavily armed officers secured the perimeter. An Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter saw responders rushing a stretcher into the metro station before emerging with a wounded Guardsman.

AfghanEvac, the nonprofit that helped resettle evacuees after the US pullout, urged against broad generalizations. Afghans entering the US, it noted, undergo “some of the most extensive security vetting” of any migrant group. “This individual's isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community,” said its president, Shawn VanDriver.

Washington, despite its fortified government core, has long struggled with street violence. Trump has framed the capital as a proving ground for his expanded National Guard deployments, an approach that was ruled unlawful by a federal judge just last week.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new wave of reinforcements in response to Wednesday’s attack: another 500 troops, raising the total to 2,500.