Two National Guard members from West Virginia remain in critical condition after being shot in downtown Washington, D.C., near the White House on Wednesday, according to officials.

Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the U.S. capital have been shot blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence that the mayor characterized as a targeted attack.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan man who allegedly shot two National Guard members in, D.C., had served in one of Afghanistan's elite counterterrorism units, according to a nonprofit run by people who served in Afghanistan.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Lakanwal “was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States,” repeating a long-cited criticism of many Republicans, who argue the withdrawal—and subsequent evacuation and resettling of the Afghan nationals—in 2021 was rushed.

By JOSH BOAK, BEN FINLEY, ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that one of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot by an Afghan

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national from Washington state, has reportedly been identified as the suspect in the shooting, according to Reuters. Lakanwal gained entry into the country through "Operation Allies Welcome,

New Yorker writer Jane Mayer faced backlash after criticizing the National Guard deployment following the shooting of two guardsmen in Washington, D.C.