DC Shooting Suspect Worked With CIA in Afghanistan

The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, DC, fought with CIA-backed forces in Afghanistan before coming to live in the US, the CIA said Wednesday, per the New York Times. Officials identified the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who served in a "partner force" in Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold during the US war in the country. An Afghan intelligence official said Lakanwal served in one of the Afghan intelligence service's Zero Units, which conducted raids against the Taliban and faced allegations of civilian casualties by human rights groups. The units also reportedly helped with the evacuation of US citizens and allies during the fall of Kabul.

After the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, Lakanwal was evacuated to the US under a program for Afghans who had assisted American forces. In a statement, CIA Director John Ratcliffe faulted the Biden administration, saying Lakanwal "should have never been allowed to come here." President Trump has now called for reassessing all individuals who entered the US from Afghanistan during the US withdrawal, per NBC News.

A childhood friend of Lakanwal tells the Times that during their last meeting in 2021, just before the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the suspect appeared to be struggling with the pressures of the job and the gruesome scenes he encountered. "When he saw blood, bodies, and the wounded, he could not tolerate it, and it put a lot of pressure on his mind," the friend says. Even so, "I cannot believe it that he might do this," a relative who served with Lakanwal in supporting US troops tells NBC. "I don't know what happened." He said the last he heard of Lakanwal, he was working for Amazon while living with his wife and five children in Bellingham, Washington.