FBI: Refugee suspected of shooting National Guard troops has San Diego tie

Streets are blocked after two National Guard soldiers were shot near the White House in Washington Photo by Anthony Peltier Associated Press The man suspected of shooting two members of a West Virginia National Guard unit in Washington D C has a connection to San Diego the FBI explained Thursday According to a CBS News summary FBI Director Kash Patel commented a search warrant had been executed at the suspect s last known address in Washington state Based on what was detected at the address law enforcement was able to find people associated with him in San Diego During that process we seized numerous electronic devices to include cell phones laptops iPads and other material that is being analyzed as we speak Patel continued Interviews were conducted and are going to be continue to be conducted and we will go anywhere in the country or the world where the evidence leads us In an emailed response Thursday a spokesperson for the FBI s San Diego office did not provide further details about the episode and referred media outlets to remarks made during the earlier press conference On Wednesday afternoon a man shot two members of the West Virginia National Guard in an ambush-style attack in the nation s capital Twenty- year-old Spc Sarah Beckstrom and Pfc Andrew Wolfe remained in critical condition after undergoing surgery U S Attorney Jeanine Pirro noted Thursday They are receiving the finest physiological care Pirro announced Their families are with them now It s not clear how it s going to end up The shooter is maintained to have acted alone Federal bureaucrats identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal an Afghan national who entered the United States in According to ABC News sources announced Lakanwal applied for asylum in and was granted asylum in April under the Trump administration CBS broadcasted that CIA personnel noted Lakanwal previously worked with the U S cabinet including the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in following the withdrawal from Afghanistan Federal authorities noted Thursday that the -year-old will be charged with three counts of assault with the intent to kill while armed and criminal possession of a weapon Leaders announced Lakanwal who is married and has five children drove from his residence in Bellingham Washington state to the nation s capital prior to the shooting and targeted the Guardsmen Patel described the probe as a coast-to-coast probe and added that functionaries are interviewing individuals at the suspect s home and in San Diego Following the shooting the Trump administration suspended processing all immigration requests from Afghans according to a BBC statement The leader of a San Diego-based nonprofit that helps relocate and resettle Afghan allies reported Thursday that the Afghan group should not be scapegoated because of the shooting Afghan wartime allies risked their lives for U S missions commented Shawn VanDiver president and board chairman of AfghanEvac This single act does not reflect Afghan values AfghanEvac partners or the tens of thousands of Afghans building safe productive lives in the U S This individual s situation appears to be a tragic outlier not a pattern he added Maintains about vetting failures are premature and not supported by evidence