Sirens wailed as the heart of the U.S. capital froze. Two West Virginia National Guard members lay critically wounded, their comrades dropping to their knees in prayer outside a Washington hospital, while the suspected gunman—identified as 29‑year‑old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal—was rushed away with non–life-threatening injuries. Within minutes, the shooting was no longer just a crime scene; it became a political earthquake.
President Donald Trump denounced the ambush as “an act of evil” and “terror,” tying it to immigration and calling it proof of a grave national security threat, even as investigators stressed they still do not know the motive. Inside the city, the White House locked down, federal agencies surged to the streets, and leaders from the Pentagon to City Hall struggled to balance fury, fear, and grief. Tonight, a nation waits between hope for the two wounded soldiers—and dread over what this attack might igni