Washington: Hours after two National Guardsmen were shot in downtown Washington, US President Donald Trump called the attack an “act of terror”.
“This heinous assault was an act of evil and an act of hatred, and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity,” Trump said while addressing the nation on Wednesday evening (local time).
He added that the suspect in custody is a “foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth”, and blamed the previous Biden administration for allowing the attacker to enter the country under refugee status.
Earlier, US media identified the alleged shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the country in 2021.
Trump also promised to “re-examine every single alien” from Afghanistan who entered the US under the Biden administration.
“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and 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,” he added.
He also announced deployment of an additional 500 troops to “help protect our capital city.”
The shooting happened less than 500 metres away from the White House. Trump was not in the capital and is visiting Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The two National Guard troops, deployed in Washington from the state of West Virginia, remain in critical condition.
Earlier in the day, Trump posted on X, “The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price. God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser termed the attack a “targeted shooting”.
While addressing the media, FBI Director Kash Patel said that the case will be prosecuted at the federal level since “this is an assault on federal law enforcement officers.”
Multiple states have sent Guard personnel to Washington in recent months as part of President Trump’s public-safety crackdown. The mission has since expanded to several other major US cities.
There are approximately 2,400 National Guard troops currently deployed in Washington, which includes around 958 from the DC National Guard and about 1,300 from eight other states.
(IANS)
