Two National Guardsmen injured in a shocking attack in Washington D.C. on Wednesday have been identified. Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Sarah Backstrom, 20, were named during a press briefing on Thursday. Both individuals are currently in critical condition following surgery. According to D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Wolfe and Backstrom had recently joined the West Virginia National Guard, being sworn in just days prior to the incident. The attack occurred while they were on patrol as part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to address crime in the nation’s capital.

The alleged shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, has been taken into custody. Lakanwal arrived in the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, which aimed to provide temporary visas to Afghans who assisted U.S. forces. During the press conference, Pirro criticized the Biden administration, referencing notes that highlighted ‘Operation Allies Welcome’ and ‘Biden Legislation.’ These notes suggested that the administration’s policies may have facilitated Lakanwal’s entry into the country.

Authorities disclosed that Lakanwal traveled from Bellingham, Washington, to Washington D.C., where he allegedly opened fire on the guardsmen using a .357 revolver. During the ensuing chaos, Lakanwal was shot and is currently hospitalized. Pirro announced that he faces three charges of assault with intent to kill while armed, along with possession of a firearm during a violent crime. She noted that the charges might be escalated based on the recovery progress of Wolfe and Backstrom.

‘We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree,’ she said, adding, ‘We will hold this perpetrator accountable under the full weight of the law.’ Attorney General Pam Bondi previously Fox News that the White House could pursue terrorism charges and the death penalty in the case. Late on Wednesday night, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Lakanwal had direct links to the CIA from his work alongside US Special Forces in Afghanistan . ‘The Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA,’ Ratcliffe admitted.

He said his involvement with the CIA was ‘as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation.’ Like President Trump, Ratcliffe slammed the former administration’s ‘disastrous’ actions during the withdrawal of Afghanistan, which allowed unvetted foreigners to enter the US on temporary visas. ‘The individual – and so many others – should have never been allowed to come here,’ Ratcliffe said. ‘Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.’

In response to the shooting, President Trump took aim solely at his predecessor Joe Biden and the previous administration on Wednesday night, insisting ‘n o country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival. ‘The suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth. ‘He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021, on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about. Nobody knew who was coming in. ‘His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden, a disastrous president, the worst in our history.’

Trump went on to warn authorities ‘must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country. ‘This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity… This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.’ Shortly after his speech, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services indefinitely stopped ‘processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals, effective immediately… pending further review of security and vetting protocols.

‘The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,’ the department said in a statement. Trump vowed that ‘the animal’ who shot the troops ‘will pay a very steep price’ as he praised ‘every member of the United States military who is deployed tonight, at home and abroad.’ He urged all families to ‘say a prayer for the two great heroes who were horribly shot.’