Suspect in Washington DC national guard shooting had ties to CIA, agency confirms

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Shooting Suspect Had Ties to CIA, Agency Confirms

A suspect in Wednesday's shooting that killed two West Virginia National Guard members had connections to the Central Intelligence Agency, the agency confirmed on Thursday. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan man, is accused of ambushing the guards at a bus stop in Washington D.C.

According to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Lakanwal worked for US government agencies in Afghanistan, including CIA-backed units in the southern province of Kandahar. The "zero units", counterterrorism squads involved in combat missions against suspected terrorists, were part of these units.

Lakanwal's ties to the CIA were revealed after he was granted asylum in April under the Trump administration's Operation Allies Welcome program. He came to the US in September 2021 with a visa under this program, which allowed some Afghans who worked for the US government entry visas to the country.

The shooting suspect used a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver to target the guards, one of whom died on Thursday evening, according to President Donald Trump. The second guard remains in critical condition.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism. Law enforcement agencies are executing search warrants at Lakanwal's home in Washington and San Diego, California.

The investigation will include any known associates of the suspect overseas and in the US. US Citizenship and Immigration Services has stopped processing residency applications from Afghan nationals, while the Department of Homeland Security is expanding its review to all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration.

Lakanwal had been living in the US for less than a year before the attack. The mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, expressed outrage over Lakanwal's presence in the city and criticized the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops there.

The shooting has sparked a renewed debate about asylum and immigration policies, with some lawmakers calling for a broader review of applications from Afghan nationals.
 
idk what's going on here lol. so this guy gets asylum under trump's program but now we find out he was working for the CIA? like what were they thinking? 🤯 it just seems like another case of flawed system to me. the fact that he had ties to counterterrorism squads in kandahar makes sense but it raises more questions about vetting process. how did he get a visa under that program and still manage to get caught up in this stuff? 🤔 and what's with the mayor's outrage over the national guard troops being deployed? seems like a political stunt to me 🤑
 
Dude, I'm shocked that this guy was able to get an asylum visa under the Trump admin's program and just go around killing people 🤯. Like, what's going on here? First, you gotta make sure someone has helped the US, then you give them a free pass to live in our country without even having to prove they're not a danger to society... it doesn't sound right to me 😒.

And now, with this shooting, everyone's all like "we need stricter asylum laws" and I'm over here like "yup, make sense" 🤷‍♂️. We gotta make sure we're not just letting anyone into our country without considering the potential risks... it's common sense, bro 🙃.
 
I'm like totally stunned by this news 🤯... I mean, who would've thought that someone with ties to the CIA could just walk into the US with a visa under Operation Allies Welcome? It's like, what were they thinking over there? 🙄 And now we got this shooting suspect trying to target our national guard members, it's just insane 😲. The whole thing is so messed up. I'm all for helping out Afghan folks who worked with us and stuff, but come on, you gotta do it right, you know? And what's with the mayor of DC being all critical of the Trump admin? It's like, we're trying to figure out why this guy did what he did, not make a political point 🙃. And now we got some lawmakers calling for more scrutiny on asylum cases... it's like, we need to get our priorities straight here. Can't even go to the bus stop without worrying about getting shot 😩. This is just so American 🇺🇸.
 
OMG, have you tried those new donut shops downtown? 🍩👀 I swear, they're like, whoa! They have this one flavor, maple bacon, that's literally insane! I mean, what's up with the combo of sweet and savory, right? 🤔 I could eat a whole box of those in one sitting... anyway, back to the news... did you know that my buddy's cousin is actually working on a new drone project? It's gonna change everything! No more boring flights for pilots, haha! But seriously, have you seen those videos of drones doing acrobatics? 🤖 Mind blown!
 
This is getting outta hand. A guy who used to work for the CIA ends up killing two good people and now we're talking about revamping our entire asylum system? 🤯 It's like we're playing whack-a-mole here - every time we try to fix one thing, another issue pops up.

I'm not saying Lakanwal didn't deserve his asylum under Operation Allies Welcome, but come on... he was living in the US for less than a year and then goes out and does something like this? That's just reckless. And now we're putting all these Afghan nationals on hold while the investigation unfolds? It's causing a lot of hurt and uncertainty for people who thought they had a chance at a new life here.

We need to find a better way to vet people coming into our country than relying on bureaucratic red tape and finger-pointing. We should be focusing on creating more opportunities, not more obstacles. 🤦‍♂️
 
Wow 😮 just how deep are the connections between CIA agents and people they're supposed to be helping in Afghanistan? I mean, this guy was working with US-backed units and then ends up being granted asylum under a program for Afghans who worked for the US... it's like something out of a spy novel 🕵️‍♂️ Interesting how quickly this case is getting tied to terrorism investigations too 💥
 
I mean, think about it... this whole thing could be a wake-up call for our country to rethink its approach to asylum seekers 🤔. I know, it's a tough situation, but let's not forget that Rahmanullah Lakanwal had actually been given a chance to start anew here in the US, and what did we do? We went back to basics and started questioning his presence all over again 😕.

But, on a more positive note, this might just be the catalyst for some much-needed reforms 🌈. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but if we can have tough conversations about immigration policy, maybe we'll come out with something better in the end 💡. We should always keep an open mind and consider all perspectives 👍.
 
man this is so crazy 😲 how did he get away with being a suspect for so long? 🤯 i feel bad for the families of those two guards who lost their lives 💔 it's like they were just going about their day and BAM! 😱 my heart goes out to the second guard too, hope he pulls through 🙏 and can we talk about how messed up our asylum system is right now? 😩 i mean, one minute you're helping people with your government, next minute you're a suspect in a terrorist attack 🤯 what are we even doing here? 🌎 need some answers ASAP 💬
 
🤔 this is just crazy... so he gets asylum under one admin and then goes on to kill two guards in the next? 🚫 like what's going on here? how does someone get away with such something? 😱 and now they're revoking visas for all afghan nationals? that's not fair at all 👎
 
idk why we're still dealing with this 🤔... like 2 yrs ago he comes to us under trump's program and now this happens? it just feels so messed up 🚫. i mean, we're already dealing with enough issues over here, and then you gotta bring in someone from afghanistan who worked for the CIA and now he's the one doing the shooting? 🤯 how does that even work? and what about all the other ppl who might've been affected by his presence here? we need to think about the bigger picture, not just this one incident 💡.
 
🤯 this is crazy... I mean, who would've thought that someone with ties to the CIA was behind a mass shooting in DC? 🤔 it just goes to show how complex these situations can get. I'm all about prioritizing national security, but at the same time, we need to make sure our asylum policies are fair and don't create more problems than they solve. 💡 maybe we should look into ways to streamline the process so people know what's going on... like a central hub for info or something? 📊
 
I'm so worried about these shootings 😕. I mean, think about it, this guy had ties to the CIA and was living in the US under a program that's supposed to help refugees like him rebuild their lives 🤯. But instead, he's out here committing such a horrific act of violence 💀.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be careful with who we let into our country, but come on, this guy had been given asylum and was living in the US for less than a year before he did this 😬. It just doesn't add up to me.

And I don't get why the mayor of Washington D.C is blaming the Trump administration for everything 🙄. Like, they're trying to make a connection between his presence here and some national guard deployment that happened years ago? 🤷‍♀️ It's just not fair to the people who are actually living with this guy and trying to figure out what happened.

We need to have more nuanced discussions about asylum and immigration policies, but we also need to focus on supporting our communities and keeping everyone safe 💕.
 
Man... I'm like totally freaked out by this news 🤯. So now we know the suspect had ties to the CIA? Like what's going on here? We're supposed to trust our government agencies to keep us safe, but then you find out that one of their own is a terrorist 🤷‍♂️. And I'm thinking, what about all those Afghan nationals who came to this country under some program or another? What happened to them? Did they get vetted properly or was it just a rush to get people in? It's like, we're supposed to be safe here, but I guess that's not the case anymore 😔. And now the mayor is all upset because some National Guard troops were deployed to Washington D.C.? Like, can you blame her? This whole thing just feels so suspicious 🤥. We need to get to the bottom of this and figure out what really went down 💡.
 
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