Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told ABC News on Nov. 30, 2025, that investigators believe the suspected shooter in a Washington, D.C., attack on National Guardsmen may have become radicalized after arriving in the United States. The suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is accused of opening fire on two National Guard members—20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe—on a Wednesday afternoon last week in Washington, D.C. Lakanwal, an Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan, arrived after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021 and was granted asylum in April 2025. Noem blamed shortcomings in the vetting that led to his admission, while other officials and experts have disputed whether vetting failures were a proximate cause.
- Suspect: Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national and former CIA local employee; granted asylum in April 2025 after leaving Afghanistan in 2021.
- Attack: Two National Guardsmen were shot on a Wednesday afternoon; victims identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24; both were on duty in Washington, D.C.
- Noem’s claim: On Nov. 30, 2025, Noem said investigators believe Lakanwal “could have been radicalized” after arrival in the U.S., and she criticized prior vetting procedures.
- Vetting dispute: ABC News contributor John Cohen, former DHS undersecretary for intelligence, says Operation Allies Welcome used classified and unclassified checks and collected biographic and biometric data.
- Policy response: The Trump administration announced a pause on asylum decisions following the shooting; Democratic lawmakers called that move unfair and warned of risks to interpreters and allies.
- Processing timeline: Officials and witnesses describe screening steps that ranged from days to weeks at third-country processing sites during the 2021 evacuation and resettlement effort.
Background
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 and later resettled in the United States under programs aimed at relocating Afghan allies. Many Afghans who assisted U.S. missions were processed through Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), a federal effort that coordinated arrivals, initial housing, and vetting. OAW combined biographic and biometric collection with intelligence checks; however, officials have acknowledged that individual timelines and the completeness of checks varied depending on operational constraints and the availability of intelligence.
Vetting and asylum decisions since 2021 have become politicized. The current exchange amplifies those tensions: Secretary Noem has publicly attributed perceived vetting shortfalls to the Biden-era processes used when many Afghan arrivals applied, while other officials maintain that much of the screening was performed and that gaps are not yet proven to have allowed a dangerous actor to slip through. The debate also intersects with broader questions about capacity, classified-information handling, and the legal standards for asylum.
Main Event
The shooting occurred on a Wednesday afternoon last week in Washington, D.C., when a gunman opened fire on two National Guard members who were on duty. Authorities identified the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal and the victims as National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, age 20, and Andrew Wolfe, age 24. Investigators say the suspect fired at the two service members; law enforcement responded and detained the suspect while authorities continue their criminal investigation.
On Nov. 30, 2025, Secretary Noem appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” and said federal authorities now believe Lakanwal may have been radicalized after arriving in the United States. In her remarks she criticized the vetting that accompanied his arrival, saying the processes used when he entered were not performed adequately in her view. Host Jonathan Karl pressed Noem about which administration gathered the information used in vetting; Noem said much of the application material originated under the Biden administration.
Former officials and current experts interviewed by ABC and others described the OAW process more granularly, noting that individuals were screened using both classified and unclassified databases and that biometric and biographic information was collected at processing sites. Some witnesses said asylum adjudications and final clearances sometimes followed in stages, and that in a limited number of cases individuals arrived at temporary U.S. locations before full, adjudicative vetting was complete.
Analysis & Implications
The immediate policy fallout is political and procedural. Secretary Noem’s statements frame the incident as a vetting failure that should prompt review of asylum and screening protocols. That interpretation has immediate policy implications: the Trump administration announced a pause on asylum decisions following the attack, citing the need to reassess procedures. Critics argue the pause risks collective punishment for a group that includes people who aided U.S. efforts and could endanger those allies if returned.
Operationally, the case highlights limits of arrival-focused vetting. Intelligence checks depend on prior information and interagency sharing; gaps can arise when records are incomplete, when individuals have limited documented histories, or when intelligence about radicalization emerges only after resettlement. Policymakers face a trade-off between rapid evacuation and comprehensive adjudication, and this incident will likely drive calls for increased post-arrival monitoring and faster intelligence updates.
Politically, the shooting will intensify scrutiny of migration policy ahead of ongoing debates in Congress and at the state level. Opponents and proponents of current asylum rules will use competing interpretations of the facts to press for changes that range from expanded background checks and biometric follow-up to broader restrictions on asylum eligibility. Internationally, allies and former local partners who helped U.S. efforts in Afghanistan may be vulnerable to adverse outcomes if policy shifts toward expedited returns.
Comparison & Data
| Subject | Age | Role/Status | Key Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Lakanwal | 29 | Afghan national; worked with CIA; granted asylum | Arrived after 2021; asylum granted April 2025 |
| Sarah Beckstrom | 20 | National Guardsman (victim) | Shooting: Wednesday, Nov. 2025 |
| Andrew Wolfe | 24 | National Guardsman (victim) | Shooting: Wednesday, Nov. 2025 |
The table summarizes known ages and roles. Public reporting and official statements to date provide the primary factual elements; detailed timelines of vetting steps vary by individual case, and agencies have not published a unified, case-level chronology for this suspect.
Reactions & Quotes
Before and after Noem’s remarks, officials and experts offered competing assessments of whether screening failures occurred and what they mean for policy.
“He was brought into the country by the Biden administration through Operation Allies Welcome… maybe vetted after that, but not done well,”
Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (appearance on ABC’s “This Week”, Nov. 30, 2025)
Noem tied perceived shortcomings to procedures used during the application and arrival process, and she said new metrics and processes have since been introduced under the current administration. Her assertion shifted attention to which agency steps occurred pre- or post-arrival.
“Under Operation Allies Welcome, those traveling to the U.S. were vetted against classified and unclassified intelligence,”
John Cohen, former DHS undersecretary for intelligence (ABC News contributor)
Cohen and other former officials noted that biographic and biometric data collection and intelligence checks were part of OAW, while also admitting there were instances of delayed or staged vetting. Their comments emphasize procedural complexity rather than a single-system failure.
“We should always review our vetting, but in this case, there’s no evidence that there was something that escaped the vetting,”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Nov. 30, 2025
Sen. Van Hollen warned against broad punitive measures and stressed the need to protect Afghan allies who worked with the U.S., arguing that collective returns would put lives at risk.
Unconfirmed
- Exact point of radicalization: Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether Lakanwal became radicalized before arrival, during initial processing, or after resettlement in the U.S.
- Direct vetting failure: There is no publicly released forensic or administrative record proving a specific vetting error directly enabled the suspect to carry out the attack.
- Policy causation: It remains unconfirmed whether changes to asylum policy or processing procedures would have prevented this incident.
Bottom Line
The case puts a spotlight on the tension between rapid humanitarian evacuation and exhaustive security vetting. Secretary Noem framed the shooting as evidence of post-arrival radicalization and vetting shortcomings, while former officials and lawmakers counter that OAW included substantial intelligence checks and that available evidence does not prove a single administrative lapse caused the attack.
Expect continued reviews of vetting processes, likely legislative and administrative proposals to tighten post-arrival monitoring, and heightened political debate ahead of any policy changes. For now, crucial factual questions—where radicalization occurred and whether procedural gaps directly enabled the shooting—remain unresolved and will shape both accountability claims and technical reforms.
Sources
- ABC News — News report with interviews of Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials (media)
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security — Operation Allies Welcome — Official program overview (official)