A senior intelligence official in the Trump administration said on Friday that the Afghan suspect who shot two National Guard members had “not been vetted” before being admitted into the United States in 2021. The suspected gunman went on to kill one National Guard member while leaving another wounded.
Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, took to X to blame the Biden administration for the vetting failures that allowed Rahmanullah Lakanwal into the U.S., a lapse that resulted in the death of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has since been arrested and charged with murder.
Shocking New Claim
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“During Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, his administration negligently used the vetting standard described above as the standard for being brought directly into the U.S., foregoing previous vetting standards applied to Special Immigrant Visas and any common sense vetting or concern for Americans,” Kent said.
“As a result, over 85k Afghans—including individuals with backgrounds similar to this shooter— were rapidly admitted into our country without the rigorous vetting that has protected us in the past.
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Kent said there were more than 2 million in total who entered “from Muslim majority nations & regions surged … often with minimal scrutiny amid record border crossings.”
“This is a deadly combination,” Kent concluded.
The NCTC director said that the suspected terrorist “was only vetted to serve as a soldier to fight against the Taliban, AQ, & ISIS IN Afghanistan, he was NOT vetted for his suitability to come to America and live among us as a neighbor, integrate into our communities, or eventually become an American citizen.”
Crime Video Emerges
This came as a disturbing new video emerged that captures the moment a hero National Guard member opened fire on the suspected Afghan terrorist just seconds after the alleged attacker ambushed two fellow troops in broad daylight.
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In the video, Lakanwal can be seen brazenly brandishing his weapon and firing at the National Guard members in Washington, DC, on the night before Thanksgiving, according to a series of live photos obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
An unidentified soldier fired five shots right after Lakanwal, 29, allegedly ambushed Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Sarah Backstrom, 20 — who later died from her injuries. Footage captured by a bystander from inside a car showed Lakanwal holding a snub-nose revolver.
Just seconds later, Lakanwal was seen lying on the ground.
Lakanwal is currently in custody and being treated in the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries from the shootout.
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DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Thursday that the lone gunman was carrying a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver when he allegedly opened fire on the two soldiers “without provocation, in an ambush-style attack.”
She said: “One guardsman is struck, goes down, and then the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman again. Another guardsman is struck several times.
“Fellow guardsmen who were there responded immediately, engaging the suspect, neutralizing the threat and subduing him at the scene.”
