Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the Trump administration will deploy 500 additional National Guard members to Washington, D.C., hours after two service members were shot near the White House. President Trump confirmed he directed the mobilization, and a U.S. official said the Army is preparing to fulfill the request. The new troops will join about 2,000 Guard personnel already deployed across the district from both D.C. and multiple states.
00:00Washington DC faces a moment of extraordinary tension.
00:08Less than a mile from the White House, in broad daylight,
00:12two National Guard soldiers were ambushed outside a busy subway station on Thanksgiving Eve,
00:18an attack that officials say carried the hallmarks of a targeted assault.
00:23In the hours since, the federal government has surged additional forces into the nation's capital.
00:29President Trump has now requested another 500 National Guard troops,
00:34joining the more than 2,000 already mobilized throughout the district.
00:39Federal officials call the situation fluid and rapidly escalating.
00:47The shooting unfolded just after midday.
00:50Commuters leaving the station ducked for cover as gunfire erupted.
00:55According to Washington Metropolitan Police,
00:58the two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were assigned to a high-visibility patrol outside the station,
01:05part of the broader Trump-ordered deployment,
01:08to address what the administration called rising crime in the nation's capital.
01:13Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, long at odds with the White House over militarized policing in her city,
01:20did not mince words. She said, this is a targeted shooting.
01:25Two of our brave members of the National Guard and Department of War were brazenly attacked in a horrendous act of violence.
01:31They were shot. They're in critical condition.
01:34As you can see behind me, we have assembled the full force of both the federal and state and local law enforcement agencies
01:40to bring bare all of our resources to make sure we find the perpetrators responsible for this heinous act.
01:47And make no mistake, they will be brought to justice.
01:49The suspect reportedly came around a corner, drew his weapon and opened fire immediately.
01:56In the chaotic seconds that followed, other National Guard troops returned fire and subdued the gunman.
02:02The two wounded soldiers were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
02:08As shots echoed through the commercial district, the Secret Service placed the White House under immediate lockdown,
02:15a precaution that underscored the gravity of the attack.
02:19Late Wednesday, officials identified the attacker as Raffin Mullah Lackenwall, an Afghan national.
02:30The Department of Homeland Security confirmed he entered the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome,
02:38a program launched during the Biden administration to resettle Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the war.
02:45A relative speaking to NBC News said Lackenwall served for nearly a decade in the Afghan army,
02:52at times fighting alongside U.S. special forces.
02:56More recently, they said, he worked at an Amazon warehouse in Washington state.
03:02Investigators with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force are now leading the probe, searching for answers to what they describe as a premeditated lone actor ambush.
03:15Within hours, the shooting had already become a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration, federal power and public safety.
03:25Vice President J.D. Vance, travelling in Kentucky, posted on X that the attack validated the administration's stance on immigration enforcement, writing,
03:35We must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country.
03:44Critics quickly pushed back.
03:46Civil rights organizations argue the administration has implemented illegal and excessively harsh tactics, claiming that recent sweeps have detained immigrants indiscriminately,
03:56including some here legally and others with no criminal record.
04:01President Trump himself issued a video statement late Wednesday calling the shooting an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.
04:11In the history of our nation's capital, the D.C. safe and beautiful task force, which has achieved an unprecedented reduction in violent crime and crimes of all type.
04:24This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.
04:30It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.
04:35He announced that the administration would re-examine all Afghans who entered the U.S. during Biden's presidency.
04:44Hours later, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed it had temporarily halted all immigration processing for Afghan nationals, pending a review of security and vetting protocols.
04:57The attack comes at a pivotal moment for the administration's controversial use of the National Guard.
05:08Just five days ago, a federal judge issued a temporary ruling blocking Guard troops from engaging in law enforcement activities in D.C. without the mayor's approval.
05:19But paused enforcement until December to allow the Trump administration to appeal.
05:29The president has also deployed Guard forces to other major cities, Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland and Memphis.
05:38Moves strongly condemned by local leaders who accuse the administration of staging militarized displays of authority to punish political opponents.
05:47In Washington, resistance from the city's leadership has remained fierce.
05:53Yet, after Wednesday's ambush, the administration's push for expanded federal security has intensified.
06:00Tonight, the arrival of hundreds more troops signals a dramatic escalation in the government's response.
06:06At this hour, both wounded soldiers remain in critical condition.
06:15The suspect is hospitalized under armed guard.
06:19FBI investigators are still mapping the shooter's path, digital footprint and possible motives, leaving many questions unanswered.
06:27The city is locked into a tightened security posture.
06:32Patrols have doubled.
06:34Perimeters around federal buildings have expanded, and the atmosphere in the capital is tense, uncertain and bracing for further developments.
06:44Officials emphasize there is no evidence of additional suspects or an ongoing threat.
06:49But acknowledge this is a moment of heightened alert, with new policies and new troop deployments moving rapidly.
06:59In a city defined by politics, power and spectacle, this was something else.
07:06An attack that pierced directly into the heart of the nation's security apparatus.
07:11And as the investigation deepens the stakes, political and national continue to rise.
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