shooting

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

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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Internet erupts after learning alleged shooter 'granted asylum this year' by Trump admin

29 year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal was arrested Wednesday and accused of shooting two National Guardsmen in downtown Washington D.C., who both are currently hospitalized in critical condition. The alleged gunman's motive has not yet been revealed, but President Donald Trump insinuated in a video address posted to Truth Social that the shooting could be attributed to former President Joe Biden's immigration and refugee policy.

"The suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered out country from Afghanistan — a hellhole on earth. He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021," Trump said. "... His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden ... This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation."

However, CNN law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller said Wednesday that new information about Lakanwal suggests that the Trump administration may be more to blame for Lakanwal's residency than Biden. He pointed out that the alleged shooter may have had his visa sponsored by U.S. military personnel as part of programs in place meant to help Afghanis fleeing the Taliban who helped the United States.

"He applies for asylum in December of 2024," Miller said. "Now, he goes through another vetting process involving that, and he's approved for asylum in April of this year, under the Trump administration."

The new revelations sparked outrage on social media. Writer Wajahat Ali tweeted: "Why did Trump invite a man who shot the National Guard?"

"Am I doing this right, MAGA? I am, right? I'm following your logic," he wrote. "So, yeah, Donald Trump should be blamed entirely."

"The [alleged] shooter was granted asylum this year," observed Colorado State University political science professor Maria Isabel Puerta Riera.

"WHY DID THE FBI LEAVE THIS OUT OF THEIR BRIEFING?" New York Times bestselling author Don Winslow wrote on X. "WHY DIDN'T KASH PATEL MENTION ANY OF THIS?"

Researcher Arif Ammar noted that there are still "many questions" on the nature of the Wednesday shooting including the "motive of the assailant," "who sponsored his evacuation from Afghanistan" and any "possible adverse affiliation of the suspect."

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New videos show immediate aftermath of 'ambush attack' on 2 National Guardsmen in DC

Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot in Washington D.C and remain in critical condition as of Wednesday evening. The suspect has been detained and their name has not yet been released.

CBS News senior White House correspondent Weija Jiang tweeted Wednesday that the shooting was an "ambush attack," citing additional reporting from CBS' Anna Schechter.

The Bulwark's Sam Stein posted video to his X account of what he described as "aftermath of the shooting" in the downtown area of Washington D.C., which took place outside of the Farragut West Metro station. The video shows a group multiple police and National Guardsmen who appear to be grappling with and punching someone on the ground, while a guardsman is seen lying motionless on the ground nearby.

Stein posted an additional video of police performing first aid on a shirtless man with no pants and wearing black underwear, describing it as "a bit gruesome."

In a CNN segment from Wednesday afternoon, reporter Evan Perez told host Manu Raju that the gunman fired three shots from a handgun at the two guardsmen, who exchanged gunfire with him. The suspect was injured in the altercation, though it was not immediately clear whether he was struck by gunfire or broken glass. There is currently no indication that any other suspects were involved.

Watch the videos below:

— (@)

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'I don't trust them': TX lawmaker says Trump's FBI too 'political' to investigate shooting

Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) has said he has little faith that the FBI will carry out a fair or complete investigation into a shooting Wednesday that killed three people, including two detainees, outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in his district.

“I don’t trust anything that’s happening out of that agency at all,” Veasey told NOTUS, according to a report published Wednesday.

“I don’t trust them at all. They’re overly political," he added.

When the shooting happened early Wednesday in Dallas, officials were slow to share details about the four people who were shot. At a midday press briefing, federal authorities would only confirm that those hurt or killed were not law enforcement personnel.

“That was all they said. And I was really, I was sickened by that, and I was disappointed by that,” Veasey told a reporter by phone just afterward, per the report.

“If there are two victims that are migrants, they need to be acknowledged," he added.

Before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) verified the victims’ status, some news outlets reported law enforcement sources saying immigrants had been hit.

Later, the DHS confirmed that all three people shot were detainees. Two died, while one remains in critical condition.

The shooter also died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to DHS, the assailant “fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot.” The agency said shell casings found at the scene bore anti-ICE messages, calling the act “an attack on ICE law enforcement.”

In the same statement, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said: “Our prayers are with the families of those killed and our ICE law enforcement. This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE … This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences. Comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences.”

FBI Director Kash Patel posted an image on the social platform X showing a shell casing that said "anti-ICE."

He wrote: “While the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an idealogical motive behind this attack … the FBI and our partners will lead these investigative efforts to see to it that those who target our law enforcement are pursued and brought to the fullest extent of justice.”

He also reiterated that “thankfully, no law enforcement personnel were injured,” though provided no further details on the victims.

Many questioned the official response to the incident, questioning why an "anti-ICE" shooter would target migrants. Patel was specifically criticized for sharing supposed evidence on social media.

Former US ambassador Luis Moreno reacted to Patel's post and wrote on X: "This will be a sad post for me. Worked shoulder to shoulder with federal LEOs for 35 yrs. FBI was the best, my closest colleagues (and to this day) friends. Their word was gospel. Today, with Kash Patel as director, everything they say is suspect. Tragic."

During his interview Wednesday, Veasey also denounced the response. “Until we get a full briefing on exactly what happened, and there are documents that are released that third parties can actually look through … I think that that’s all we have, because we know that Patel is gonna — he’s gonna play Patel games,” he said.

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Why Trump admin's 'inflammatory claims' about alleged Kirk shooter are wrong: analysis

In an article for Slate published Tuesday, writer Luke Winkie argued that the political firestorm following the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is being fueled less by facts than by a volatile mixture of speculation, partisan narrative-building and ideological fear-mongering.

“It’s still too early to know the full answers to these questions, but that hasn’t stopped a whole bunch of people putting out a whole bunch of misinformation, half-truths and inflammatory claims on the matter,” Winkie wrote.

He argued that the right-wing reaction to Kirk’s death has escalated far beyond grief, turning into a sweeping crackdown on dissent and an attempt to reframe the shooting as a symptom of an imagined liberal conspiracy.

“Much of this has to do with who Kirk was,” Winkie wrote, describing the conservative figurehead as “a talented showman and cunning organizer” who played a pivotal role in the growth of the American right.

But just as important to the fallout, Winkie maintained, is the murky identity of Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter.

Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, has become a canvas onto which various factions are projecting their worst fears, according to Winkie. Conservative leaders like Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have cast Robinson as “deeply indoctrinated by leftist ideology.” However, Winkie pointed out that the actual evidence tells a far murkier story.

There’s no sign, for example, that Robinson was involved in organized leftist politics, let alone part of a radical network.

Instead, the 22 year-old appears to have been a quiet, somewhat socially isolated figure who drifted away from both formal education and political engagement.

“The revelation that right-wing media is most preoccupied with,” Winkie noted, “is Robinson’s romantic involvement with [a] queer roommate who is transitioning from male to female.”

This detail, Winkie suggested, has been opportunistically twisted to frame Robinson as “living an un-Christian lifestyle,” fueling a culture-war narrative that blames queer and trans people for the violence.

Winkie doesn’t downplay the horror of Kirk’s assassination, but he warns that the political response is careening toward authoritarianism.

He cited Attorney General Pam Bondi’s threat to gut First Amendment protections as a chilling example, after she said “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Robinson reportedly texted his partner before the shooting. Winkie noted this statement was more personal and emotionally driven than politically calculated.

The writer also highlighted the Discord server where Robinson had been active, a space some hoped would reveal the killer’s radicalization. Instead, the chats turned out to be mundane, filled mostly with “gamer memes and loose group-chat chatter.”

Winkie wrote, “It wasn’t very partisan.”

After the assassination, one of Robinson’s friends posted a prayer for Kirk’s family.

“Here is a group of kids blindsided by the reality that one of their friends had taken such drastic, world-altering measures out of a misguided sense of vengeance,” Winkie wrote.

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'Republican for Trump': Alleged Kirk shooter's grandmother confirms entire family is MAGA

The grandmother of 22 year-old Tyler Robinson — who has been arrested for allegedly murdering far-right activist Charlie Kirk — is now saying her entire family is strongly in the Republican camp.

According to a Friday report in the Daily Beast, Robinson's grandmother, Debbie Robinson, told the Daily Mail that the alleged shooter was raised around a family of people who fully supported President Donald Trump. The 69 year-old said that her son, Matt — who is the suspect's father — is a "Republican for Trump."

“Most of my family members are Republican," she said. "I don’t know any single one who’s a Democrat.”

Robinson insisted she was completely caught off-guard by the news of her grandson's arrest, saying that the 22 year-old "has never, ever gotten in trouble in his life. And she added that despite her family's political leanings, she never personally had political conversations with her grandson — who was registered as non-party affiliated in previous elections.

“I’m just so confused,” Debbie said of her grandson’s arrest. “[Tyler] is the shyest person,” she said. “He has never, ever spoke politics to me at all.”

The alleged assassin's mother, Amber, is also a registered Republican, according to public records. Both Amber and Matt Robinson live in the Republican stronghold of Washington, Utah, and are employed full-time as a licensed social worker and a home furnishings entrepreneur, respectively. One 2021 Facebook post shows Amber Robinson praising one of Tyler's brothers as a "gun toting, cowboy loving brilliant kid" with a photo of him holding a scoped rifle.

According to a Friday report in the Wall Street Journal, Tyler Robinson graduated high school with a nearly perfect grade point average, scored a 34 out a possible 36 on his A.C.T. test and earned a $32,000 scholarship to Utah State University. However, he dropped out of school after one semester and appeared to be deeply steeped in far-right online meme culture. Ammunition recovered by police were covered in obscure references to video games and niche memes.

Click here to read the Beast's article, and click here to read the Daily Mail's full report (subscriptions required).

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Analyst reveals key decision behind FBI's critical 'failure' in aftermath of Kirk shooting

In an article for The Daily Beast published Thursday, David Gardner, the outlet's chief national correspondent, argued that the failure of the FBI’s response in the wake of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's killing indicated that the bureau was ill-prepared and operating more like bumbling amateurs than a top‐tier law enforcement agency.

He noted the delay and opacity around releasing the suspect’s image, highlighting one specific misstep: Although the FBI had been directed under its current leadership to prioritize street crime and illegal immigration over political violence, the shooting brought that shift into harsh relief.

"The implication of failure was clear," he wrote.

Gardner noted that a man was killed and the event was streamed live; a video camera “tower” less than 200 yards from where the victim sat captured footage of the suspect almost immediately. Yet the bureau took a full day to locate that footage and release it.

Initially they claimed to have the picture but refused to make it public, saying they would try to identify the suspect themselves, and only changed course hours later. By then, Gardner points out, it was too late.

Gardner’s core critique is that these delays and bureaucratic missteps were not just minor errors, but symptomatic of a deeper failure: a failure of vigilance, priorities, and procedure.

He further argued that in an era when political violence has been steadily growing, the FBI should — but appears not to — treat such risks with urgency. He added that the FBI’s reluctance to publicly share vital evidence, combined with an internal directive that downplays political violence, enabled the breakdown in this case.

Click here to read Gardner's full article in the Daily Beast (subscription required).

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'There is no longer any middle ground': GOP congressman says left ideology is 'pure evil'

House and Senate Republicans are lashing out at Democrats en masse, blaming them for rhetoric they say led to Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

U.S. Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO), in a speech Thursday on the floor of the House of Representatives, attacked the left, charging that even those who are “well-meaning” abide by an ideology of “hate” that mirrors communist authoritarians and revolutionaries.

“Well, everything has changed,” Congressman Onder claimed. “If we didn’t know it already, there is no longer any middle ground.”

“Some on the American left are undoubtedly well-meaning people. But their ideology is pure evil,” he charged. “They hate the good, the truth, and the beautiful, and embrace the evil, the false and the ugly.”

“And they literally will kill those with whom they disagree just as their predecessor leftists—Marx, and Stalin, and Lenin, and Pol Pot, and Fidel Castro, did. “We must know that.”

Onder is not the only GOP lawmaker on Capitol Hill attacking the left in the wake of Kirk’s killing, despite the killer having not yet been identified or captured.

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) told Newsmax on Thursday morning that “what we are finding is that when you do have those strong conservative voices speaking truth to power you will find that when the left can no longer debate it, they can’t deny the truth, the only way they can silence those voices is through violence.”

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) went even further, vowing to use “Congressional authority” to “cancel” anyone who “belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”

“I’m basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” he wrote.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) declared on Wednesday that “Democrats own what happened today.”

“Some raging leftist lunatic put a bullet through his neck,” she declared.

As of now, there is no suspect in custody, and the FBI has announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to a suspect’s arrest.

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'Particularly disgusting': GOP senator blasts top conservatives' responses to Kirk murder

With tensions running high over the shocking assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Congress erupting in "p artisan shouting" yesterday on the House floor, and conservative pundits calling for war and retribution, one Republican is telling people to cool it.

National Journal congressional policy reporter Nancy Vu reported Thursday that Sen.Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has issued a sharp rebuke to his colleagues calling for violence.

"What I was really disgusted by yesterday is a couple of talking heads that sees this as an opportunity to say we're at war so that they could get some of our conservative followers lathered up over this," he said, "It seems like a cheap, disgusting, awful way to pretend like you're a leader of a conservative movement. And there were two in particular that I found particularly disgusting."

One talking head Tillis may have been referencing is Fox News host Jesse Watters, who told his viewers, "They are at war with us, whether we want to accept it or not. And what are we going to do about it?"

Watters' comment was starkly different in tone compared to Tillis' initial reaction upon hearing of Kirk's assassination, in which he posted on X, "Political violence has no place in our society."

Another who may be the focus of Tillis's ire is Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who was quick to blame the media for Kirk's murder.

When a reporter questioned Van Orden's claim, the far-right MAGA Republican responded, "You know what, knock it off ... You are responsible for that assassination yesterday. You should be ashamed of yourself."

While MAGA recoiled online at Tillis's condemnation of his colleagues, others agreed, with one noting, "This exact message should have come from Trump himself rather than a GOP representative."

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'Find each and every one': Trump pledges crackdown on 'radical left political violence'

In a video address to the nation posted to his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump pledged a massive crackdown on "radical left political violence" in the wake of the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.

Even though the gunman responsible for Kirk's death on a Utah college campus remains at large and the motive remains unknown, Trump insisted that the "radical left" was behind the shooting. He added that it was "long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible."

"This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now," Trump said.

"My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country," said Trump, who has so far not addressed the pattern of MAGA activists threatening federal judges.

"Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives," he added.

Trump went on to praise Kirk as "the best of America," and declared that "the monster who attacked him attacked our whole country." He then said that he and others would "ensure that his voice, his message and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come."

Kirk — one of the most influential figures in the MAGA movement — was answering a question about "mass shooters in America" during a question-and-answer session on Utah Valley University's campus in Orem, Utah just before he was fatally shot by an unknown gunman. A 71 year-old man was initially arrested in the aftermath of the shooting, but was later released.

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Group of students 'stood up and cheered' after Charlie Kirk was shot: eyewitness

An eyewitness at Utah Valley University described a chaotic scene during a campus event when conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot, saying that a group of students celebrated the shooting.

The witness recounted hearing a gunshot and then seeing Kirk collapse, prompting panic among the audience.

"I did see a select group of students who stood up and cheered after that fact," the witness told ABC4.

This reaction added to the unsettling atmosphere as attendees scrambled for safety, per the eyewitness.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at the university when he was struck in the neck by a single bullet. The shot reportedly came from a nearby building, approximately 200 yards away.

Video footage captured the moment, showing Kirk clutching his neck and collapsing in his chair. He was later confirmed dead, and authorities are treating the incident as a targeted act of political violence.

Another witness, speaking to ABC4.com, described the harrowing scene through tears.

"You just see his neck like open up, and there's just so much blood that came out. It was horrible, and all I felt was everybody bringing me down to the ground," she said. "All I hear is screaming, and I see people running, and I'm like 'It's not safe to run, it's not safe to get up, it's not...'" She added, "And all I'm saying is 'Please God, please God,' 'cause I don't want to die, I don't want anybody else to die, and I think I just saw a guy die."

The university campus was evacuated, and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are investigating the incident. A person of interest was briefly detained but later released after being ruled out as the shooter. The motive behind the attack remains unclear.

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