Trump Condemns Shooting of National Guardsmen as ‘Act of Terror’, Orders Deployment of 500 Additional Troops

US President Donald Trump has condemned the shooting of two National Guardsmen in downtown Washington as an “act of terror,” just hours after the attack occurred on Wednesday.

Calling the incident a “heinous assault,” Trump said in a national address: “This heinous assault was an act of evil and an act of hatred, and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.”

Trump added that the suspect in custody is “a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan,” blaming the previous Biden administration for allowing him entry under refugee status. US media identified the alleged shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who arrived in 2021.

The President also announced plans to “re-examine every single alien” from Afghanistan who entered the US during the Biden administration and said measures would be taken to remove any foreign national “who does not belong here or add benefit to our country.”

In response to the attack, Trump ordered 500 additional troops to be deployed to Washington to enhance security in the capital. The shooting took place less than 500 meters from the White House. Trump was in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday at the time.

The two National Guard members, deployed from West Virginia, remain in critical condition.

Earlier in the day, Trump posted on X, saying the attacker would “pay a very steep price,” praising the National Guard, military, and law enforcement for their service.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser described the incident as a “targeted shooting.”

FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the case will be prosecuted at the federal level, citing the assault on federal law enforcement personnel.

In recent months, several states have sent National Guard units to Washington as part of Trump’s public-safety initiatives, with the deployment expanding to other major cities as well. Currently, about 2,400 National Guard troops are stationed in Washington, including 958 from the DC National Guard and around 1,300 from eight other states.

With inputs from IANS