By Zachary Cohen, Kaanita Iyer, Holmes Lybrand, Gabe Cohen, Evan Perez, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security has identified the suspect involved in the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members, who remain in critical condition.

The suspect is Rahmanullah Lakamal, who came to the US from Afghanistan in 2021, DHS said in a statement late Wednesday. Officials said earlier the suspect is in custody.

Multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told CNN the shooter’s initial identification matches a man from Washington state who applied for asylum in 2024, which was granted by the Trump administration earlier this year.

The two guard members had been performing “high visibility patrols” near the White House before the suspect appeared, “raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard,” said Jeffery Carroll, the executive assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, during a news conference earlier Wednesday.

Bowser and FBI Director Kash Patel said during the news conference the two guard members are in critical condition.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack as a “targeted shooting” in a post on X and said the two guard members shot were part of the West Virginia National Guard.

“To the American public and the world, please send your prayers to those brave warriors who are in critical condition and their families,” Patel said during the news conference.

Carroll added during the presser “there is no indication” that there is another suspect, adding that the suspect in custody was taken to an area hospital.

The shooting took place near Farragut Square — a tourist-heavy area located near a busy transit center and the White House.

A source familiar with the investigation told CNN earlier Wednesday that law enforcement officials are not tracking any other victims of the shooting beyond the two National Guard officers and the suspect.

Three law enforcement sources told CNN that the suspect approached the guardsmen and appeared to target them, firing first at one of the guardsmen who was mere feet away.

One source said the suspect then fired at the other guardsman, who tried to get behind a bus stop shelter. The source added that the suspect is not cooperating with investigators and had no identification on him at the time of his arrest.

What we know about the shooting

Video from the nearby Metro station showed the shooting as it happened, law enforcement officials told CNN.

The gunman approached three National Guard members who appeared to not see him until he began shooting, striking one guard member and then another, the officials said.

The gunman then stood over the first victim and appeared to try to fire another round. That’s when the third guard member returned fire at the alleged shooter, the sources said.

A woman who was near the scene of the shooting told CNN she heard gunshots and then saw a “bunch of people” administering CPR to people who were on the ground.

Two law enforcement sources said earlier Wednesday the suspect was detained and transported away from the scene on a stretcher.

Authorities ran the fingerprints of the man in custody and that’s how they got the initial name, one law enforcement official told CNN.

Investigators recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the attack on the National Guard members and are working to determine when and how the suspect obtained it, law enforcement officials told CNN.

US law restricts firearms sales to people who aren’t citizens or legal permanent residents and it’s unclear whether the alleged gunman could have legally bought the handgun, the officials said.

Prior to the Wednesday news conference, there were conflicting reports about the condition of the guardsman after West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey posted on social media — and later corrected — that the guardsmen were believed to be dead.

Earlier in the day, DC Metropolitan Police said on X that the scene is secure and one suspect is in custody. They advised people to avoid the area.

Joint Task Force — DC, the National Guard office responsible for organizing the Guard mission to Washington, DC, confirmed in a statement Wednesday afternoon that “several” of its members “were involved in a shooting near the Farragut West Metro Station,” adding that it is working with DC police and other “law enforcement agencies.”

Trump addresses nation and calls for re-examining Afghan immigrants

President Donald Trump identified the suspect as an Afghan national in a video from Mar-a-Lago posted late Wednesday and blamed the Biden administration for allowing him into the country.

“I can report tonight that based on the best available information, the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan — a hell hole on earth,” Trump said in the video, adding that the suspect “was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021.”

“We’re not going to put up with these kind of assaults on law and order by people who shouldn’t even be in our country,” Trump added. “We must now reexamine every single alien who’s entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country.”

Following Trump’s remarks, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post on X that the processing of all immigration cases related to Afghan immigrants “is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”

The Trump administration was already in the process of re-interviewing Afghan migrants admitted to the US during the previous administration, CNN reported earlier this week. Trump officials have repeatedly argued that the previous administration didn’t sufficiently vet the people who entered the US.

In his video, Trump also reiterated his request to deploy 500 more National Guardsmen to Washington, DC, in response to the shooting, which was shared by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth earlier in the day.

Shortly after the shooting, Trump weighed in on Truth Social, saying, “The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen … is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price.”

Vice President JD Vance, during remarks at an event in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, called for prayers for the national guardsmen, who he said were in critical condition at the time.

The shooting is “a somber reminder that soldiers whether they’re active duty, reserve or National Guard are soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America,” Vance added.

National Guard troops in nation’s capital since August

National Guard troops from multiple states have been in Washington, DC, for months as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-crime crackdown in the nation’s capital, which has since expanded to other cities across the country.

Trump mobilized the National Guard in August and the troops were authorized to conduct law enforcement activities.

CNN reported last month that National Guard troops will remain mobilized in the city at least through February.

However, last week a federal judge halted the mobilization of the National Guard in Washington, DC, ruling that Trump and the Defense Department illegally deployed the troops.

In her ruling, the judge said there were “more than 2,000 National Guard troops” every day in the city.

The judge did not immediately order the National Guard to leave the city, allowing the Trump administration some time to file an appeal, which it did Tuesday.

The administration earlier Wednesday asked a federal appeals court for an emergency stay of the judge’s order to remove the National Guard from Washington, DC.

This story and headline have been updated with additional details.

CNN’s John Miller contributed to this report.

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