New photos show exact moment DC shooting suspect fired on National Guard troops

27 November 2025

A National Guard member (L) being pursued by the alleged Washington D.C. shooter (R) on November 26, 2025 (Image: Wall Street Journal / Fair Use)

A Washington D.C. resident managed to take photos of the exact moment a gunman opened fire on two National Guard troops on Wednesday afternoon.

The photos – which were captured by an unnamed passerby via smartphone — were published in a Thursday report by the Wall Street Journal's Michael R. Gordon. One photo shows a National Guard member sprinting away from the assailant outside of the Farragut West Metro station in downtown Washington D.C., while the attacker can be seen with a revolver in his right hand. the guardsman and the gunman are seen running around the corner of 17th and I streets, not far from the White House.

The photographer also managed to record video while driving past the scene of the attack in which gunfire can be heard. It's unclear whether the gunfire is only from the attacker's handgun, or if the shots are from one of the troops, who returned fire and injured the attacker.

Jeffrey Carroll, who is the executive assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, told the Journal that at approximately 2:13 PM, the gunman carried out an "ambush" attack on the two West Virginia National Guard members, who have been identified as Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom. Both Wolfe, who is 24 years old, and Beckstrom, who is 20, are still in critical condition as of Thursday and are being treated in a local hospital.

"[The alleged shooter] came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard members," Carroll said.

29 year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal was arrested and charged with carrying out the shooting, and is also receiving treatment in a local hospital. Lakanwal arrived in the United States in September of 2021, and was thoroughly vetted by multiple federal agencies. He then applied for asylum, which was granted by President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier this year.

Former FBI counterterrorism expert Rob D'Amico told MS NOW on Thursday that it's possible Lakanwal may have been "radicalized" online after he was vetted, and that he could have also had undiagnosed "mental health issues." Law enforcement officers have not yet identified a motive behind the attack.

Click here to read the Journal's full report, and to see the photos and videos.

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