The Thanksgiving holiday in Washington, D.C. was shattered by violence and political turmoil after a deadly shooting near the White House, thrusting the city and the nation into a heated debate over immigration, public safety, and presidential power. At the center of the storm: Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan evacuee, now facing charges for the November 26, 2025 shooting of two National Guard members. The incident, which officials described as a "targeted" attack, has left one guard member dead and another wounded, according to reporting from The New York Times and The Hindu.
The tragedy unfolded against a backdrop of mounting tension over President Donald Trump’s controversial deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital. The deployment, which began in August 2025, was part of a broader crackdown on immigration and crime in Democratic-led cities. After the shooting, President Trump ordered 500 additional troops to Washington, bringing the total number of National Guard soldiers in the city to more than 2,000. These troops hailed from the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama, as detailed by The Hindu.
For Lakanwal, the journey to this moment was marked by trauma and warning signs that went unheeded. Evacuated from Afghanistan by the U.S. military in August 2021, he and his family settled in Bellingham, Washington. In Afghanistan, Lakanwal had fought in a CIA-trained paramilitary unit. But the transition to American life proved difficult. He worked temporary jobs, took his five sons to a local mosque, and tried to build a new life. Yet by early 2023, those close to him saw troubling changes. A volunteer who worked with his family recounted in an urgent email, “Rahmanullah needs help.”
The volunteer, who had been assisting the Lakanwal family in northwest Washington, described a sharp decline in his mental health. Lakanwal began secluding himself in his darkened bedroom, stopped answering his phone, and neglected basic responsibilities such as bathing or dressing his children when his wife stepped out. He dropped out of English classes, failed to seek work, and stopped paying rent, leading to an eviction notice. As the volunteer wrote in January 2024, “Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year.” The warning was sent to a nonprofit group working with immigrants, but it is unclear what, if any, intervention followed.
Nearly two years after these alarms were raised, Lakanwal’s name would appear in headlines as the suspect in the fatal shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House. The case quickly became a flashpoint in the nation’s ongoing struggle over immigration policy and public safety.
President Trump, responding to the violence, escalated his anti-immigrant rhetoric and declared a halt to migration from what he described as “third-world countries.” According to The Hindu, the president’s actions have sparked outrage among Democratic leaders and civil rights advocates, who argue that the deployment of federal troops in cities like Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland amounts to a militarized show of force aimed at punishing political opponents rather than addressing crime.
The legality of the troop deployments has been fiercely contested in the courts. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, a Democrat and the capital city’s top legal officer, sued President Trump on September 4, 2025, accusing him of unlawfully usurping control of the city’s law enforcement and violating laws that prohibit troops from engaging in domestic police work. Local officials contend that the president overstepped his authority by taking over the mayor’s policing role and flouting federal laws designed to keep the military out of civilian law enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled on November 20, 2025, that the presence of National Guard troops in Washington was likely unlawful. She temporarily blocked the deployment but paused her ruling for three weeks to give the administration time to remove the troops and appeal her decision. Rather than scaling back, President Trump doubled down, ordering more troops into the city in the wake of the shooting.
On December 4, 2025, the legal battle took another turn when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a temporary order lifting the injunction that would have required the National Guard to leave the capital by December 11. The order, which does not address the merits of the case, allows President Trump to continue the deployment while litigation continues. As The Hindu reported, the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in soon on the legality of the president’s use of the National Guard in other cities, a decision that could have far-reaching implications for the balance of power between federal and local governments.
The stakes are high for all sides. Supporters of the president’s actions argue that the deployment is necessary to restore order and protect public safety in the face of rising crime and what they see as failures by local Democratic leaders. They point to the deadly attack on the National Guard members as evidence that more robust security measures are needed. Critics counter that the use of federal troops for policing purposes undermines civil liberties, erodes local control, and sets a dangerous precedent for the use of military force in American cities.
The families of the National Guard members caught in the crossfire are left to grieve and search for answers. One of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot in the November 26 attack has since died from her injuries. The loss is deeply felt among the ranks and in the communities that sent their sons and daughters to serve in the capital.
The Lakanwal family, meanwhile, faces a different kind of tragedy. The warning signs of Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s unraveling—his depression, isolation, and inability to function—were documented and shared, but ultimately failed to prevent a catastrophic outcome. The story raises difficult questions about the challenges faced by refugees and evacuees adjusting to life in the United States, the adequacy of mental health support, and the broader consequences of policy decisions made in Washington and beyond.
As the legal and political battles rage on, the city of Washington remains under the watchful eye of thousands of National Guard troops, a visible symbol of the nation’s divisions and anxieties. The events of Thanksgiving 2025 have left an indelible mark, forcing Americans to confront uncomfortable truths about violence, vulnerability, and the limits of power.
For now, the questions linger, and the city waits for clarity—on justice for the victims, accountability for the accused, and the future of federal authority in America’s streets.
