Trump has Afghans checked out "The animal will pay a hefty price"
The man who shot two members of the National Guard near the White House is said to be an Afghan citizen. US President Trump then calls for Afghans admitted to the USA to be checked.
27.11.2025, 09:14
dpa
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- After a 29-year-old Afghan allegedly seriously injured two National Guardsmen with gunfire in Washington, Donald Trump wants to vet Afghans in the country.
- Around 76,000 Afghans have come to the USA following the withdrawal of the US army.
- The mayor of Washington said it was a "targeted gun attack".
- The police are assuming it was a lone perpetrator.
- Trump wants to send 500 more National Guardsmen to the capital.
Following the shooting of two US National Guard soldiers near the White House in Washington, President Donald Trump has called for an investigation into Afghan refugees who were allowed into the USA under his predecessor Joe Biden.
"If they can't love our country, we don't want them," the Republican said in a video message posted on social media last night. The gun attack was "a crime against our entire nation", Trump said.
The alleged perpetrator is an Afghan national. According to the authorities, the 29-year-old came to the USA in 2021 as part of a Biden administration program.
The program provided for the evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans following the withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan. Around 76,000 people were brought to the USA, many of whom had assisted US soldiers and diplomats as interpreters and translators.
Mayor: "Targeted firearms attack"
Trump and his allies have criticized the program for alleged gaps in the vetting process and the speed at which refugees are being accepted.
Supporters of the program have called it a lifeline for people at risk of a retaliatory attack by the militant Islamist Taliban, which has come to power in Afghanistan.
The suspect last lived in the US state of Washington on the west coast of the USA. According to official sources, efforts are still being made to fully confirm the suspect's background.
The mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, said that it was a "targeted shooting attack" on the National Guardsmen. Washington Deputy Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the attacker "came around the corner" and immediately opened fire on the soldiers.
Police assume single perpetrator
Carroll referred to a video that had been analyzed by the investigators. After other soldiers in the area heard the shots, they rushed over and overpowered the shooter after he had been shot, Carroll added.
The police are currently assuming a single perpetrator. Bowser and FBI Director Kash Patel said the two National Guard members were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
The Governor of West Virginia, Patrick Morrisey, initially wrote on Platform X that the soldiers from his state had succumbed to their injuries. However, he later admitted that there were "conflicting reports" about the soldiers' condition.
Trump not in the White House at the time of the shooting
The background to the crime was initially unclear. The shots were fired at the corner of 17th Street and H, two blocks northwest of the White House. Trump was at his golf course in West Palm Beach in the US state of Florida at the time of the incident.
He wrote on his Truth Social platform that the "animal" that committed the crime would pay for it. "God bless our great National Guard and all our military and law enforcement agencies. These are truly great people."
Later, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Trump had instructed him to send 500 more National Guardsmen to Washington. According to the latest government announcement, 2188 soldiers from the joint task force are currently stationed in the city.
Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Washington controversial
In August, Trump ordered a controversial deployment of the National Guard in Washington - on the grounds that the capital was failing to get a grip on crime.
Despite the expiry of Trump's emergency order and complaints against the presence of the soldiers, the National Guardsmen, who come from the capital district of Washington and eight other states, are still on site.
The soldiers have been patrolling residential neighborhoods, train stations and other locations, posted at highway checkpoints and have also been assigned to pick up trash and guard sporting events.
Last week, a federal judge ordered an end to the deployment, but stayed her order for 21 days to give the Trump administration time to either withdraw the soldiers or appeal the decision.
