Trump says National Guard member dies after shooting, as ambush becomes political flashpoint

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that aNationalGuardmember had died after being shot in an ambush by an Afghannationalnear the White House, an attack that drew accusations from his administration of Biden-era immigration vetting failures and prompted a sweeping review of asylum cases.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of her wounds and her fellowGuardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, was “fighting for his life,” Trump said, as investigatorsconducted whatofficials said was a terrorism investigation after Wednesday’s shooting.

The FBI searched multiple properties in a widening probe,includinga home in Washington state linked to the suspect, who officials said was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan before coming to the U.S. in 2021 under a resettlement program.

Agents seized numerous electronic devices from the residence of the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, including cellphones, laptops, and iPads, and interviewed his relatives, FBI Director Kash Patel told a news conference.

U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. JeaninePirro said the suspect drove cross-country and then ambushed theGuardmembers while they were patrolling near the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

“I want to express the anguish and the horror of our entire nation that the terrorist attack yesterday in our nation’s capital, in which a savage monster gunned down two service members in the West VirginiaNationalGuard, who were deployed as part of the DC Task Force,” Trump said in a Thanksgiving call for U.S. military service members.

Trump said the suspect’s “atrocity reminds us that we have no greaternationalsecurity priority than ensuring that we have full control over the people that enter and remain in our country.”

Armed with a powerful revolver, a .357 Magnum, the gunmanshot one member who fell and then shot again before firing multiple times at the second member. The gunman was wounded in an exchange of fire withGuardmembers before he was arrested. He was in hospital under heavyguardon Thursday,and Trump said he was in serious condition.

The alleged assailant, who lived in Washington state with his wife and five children, appeared to have acted alone, said Jeff Carroll, executive assistant chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.