Federal investigators are investigating the motive in last week's ambush attack against two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the U.S. is pausing all asylum decisions in the wake of the attack. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane and Camilo Montoya-Galvez have more.

Washington

Federal investigators are examining the motive behind an ambush attack on two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., which resulted in the death of Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and left Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe in critical condition. The suspect, identified as Afghan national Ramanullah Lakhanwal, entered the U.S. in 2021 and was reportedly radicalized after arrival.

In response to the incident, the Trump administration has paused all asylum decisions, affecting over two million people, and ordered a comprehensive reexamination of green card applications from nationals of 19 countries. Authorities are expected to file murder and potentially death penalty charges against Lakhanwal, who is currently under medical care.

Feds investigating motive in National Guard ambush attack

Federal investigators are trying to understand why a gunman ambushed and shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. last week. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says the suspect, identified as Afghan National Ramanullah Lakhanwal, has been radicalized after entering the U.S. in 2021. One of the victims, Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, later died from the shooting. The other, Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, is in the hospital fighting for his life. West Virginia's governor gave an update on his condition today. We were told that Andrew was asked if he could hear the nurse who asked the question to give a thumbs up, and he did respond. And we were told that he also wiggled his toes. So we take that as a positive sign. CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott McFarlane has been following all this. So, Scott, what's the latest in the investigation? We're waiting to see when there's a criminal charge filed against Lakhanwal. We expect it to be here in the District of Columbia by the U.S. Department of Justice. And just a few days ago, Lindsey, the U.S. attorney here in Washington, D.C., had indicated this is not only going to be a murder prosecution, but a death penalty case, not the first one the Trump administration has pursued in Washington, D.C. You'll recall the fatal shooting outside the Israeli embassy event earlier this year. Lakhanwal is under medical care right now based on the injuries he sustained during the alleged attack. But a charge is inevitable, if not imminent, in this case. That's his matter. But as for Andrew Wolf, you heard the update from Governor Patrick Morrisey in Charleston, West Virginia, that there's some sign of improvement. The governor emphasizes Wolf remains serious and that this is something we'll have to track over the course of the coming days. What do we learn about the alleged shooter's entry into the U.S. and immigration status? Yeah, it begins a few years ago. Let me show you the timeline CBS News has constructed here. For Lakhanwal and his movements from Afghanistan, ultimately into Washington state, not far from the Canadian border. You see, it begins shortly after the Abbey Gate disaster and the end of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, September 2021. You see that application for asylum a year ago this month and then in April 2025, the approval of that asylum here in the first year of the Trump administration. So that is going to fester any number of political arguments over whether some party or some administration bears more responsibility for his being in the country. But I think fundamentally what you're hearing from the governor here is that there's a more profound concern about the well-being of the guard member who is still in serious condition and the future of this National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. Lindsey, the governor says he still believes in this mission, thinks it's important for West Virginia to put National Guard troops here in the nation's capital and it will continue, seems indefinitely. Scott McFarland, thank you. The U.S. is pausing all asylum decisions following Wednesday's attack, leaving more than two million in limbo, according to an internal directive from the Trump administration obtained by CBS News. Yesterday on ABC, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke about the vetting process involved in Operation Allies Welcome after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. If you remember during that operation when Afghanistan was abandoned, people were just put on aircraft and brought to the United States. And the administration said at that time that they would vet them when they got here. And so they did, but they didn't do a thorough investigation. What they did was check a few names and a few data points. But what President Trump has put in place now for vetting is biometric information, checking social media platforms, communications, contacts, matching updates of service. That was never done under Joe Biden. He didn't do that. In fact, he brought people to this country and then just said, well, we'll vet them later. That's how things like this happen. Let's turn to CBS News immigration and politics reporter Camila Montoya-Galvez. So we heard Secretary Noem say also that the suspect was radicalized after coming to the U.S. So does that undermine this claim about a lack of vetting? Well, look, Lindsay, this case is going to be politicized depending on your political affiliation. The fact of the matter is, however, that there were multiple circumstances and opportunities for U.S. officials under the Biden and Trump administrations to vet and screen this man. The initial phase was when he entered the country back during the Biden administration in September of 2021, when he was granted humanitarian parole alongside tens of thousands of other Afghan evacuees. They were supposed to undergo some degree of vetting in third countries like Qatar, the UAE, Spain, Germany and Italy in military bases there before being resettled into the U.S. After that, they were housed in military facilities domestically here. And there should have been another round of vetting there after that process was completed. But then this man, we are told, applied for asylum in the last few weeks of the outgoing Biden administration last year. But that case was granted this year in April under the second Trump administration. That asylum review process should have included an in-person interview under this administration and also around the vetting by U.S. citizenship and immigration services, including a review of his social media activity. So, again, there were multiple chances for U.S. officials to detect any derogatory information, any red flags. It could be the case that those red flags were missed or not detected. But it could also be the case, Lindsey, that this problem was not a vetting pitfall or shortcoming. It could be that he was radicalized or that he became disturbed after the fact, after he passed those background checks. And, of course, the vetting process is not a crystal ball that will predict the future. Yeah, OK, important context there. So President Trump is also ordering a, quote, rigorous reexamination of green cards from 19 countries. What does that entail? Well, citing this attack, the Trump administration is moving aggressively to further expand that crackdown on immigration across the country. The administration first announced a halt to any immigration and visa applications filed by Afghan nationals. The Department of Homeland Security has also halted all asylum decisions at U.S. citizenship and immigration services across all nationalities, not just Afghan asylum seekers. And lastly, as you just alluded to, the administration has ordered a full scale reexamination and reevaluation of green card cases filed by nationals of 19 countries on the president's so-called travel ban. That includes many countries in Africa and Asia like Sudan, Somalia, of course, Afghanistan and Iran, but also several countries in the Western Hemisphere like Haiti, Venezuela and Cuba. And nationals of those countries can now expect a higher degree of scrutiny when it comes to their green card applications. And the concern about vetting could be cited as a reason to deny their green card applications, even though they may otherwise qualify for a green card under U.S. law. OK, Camila Montoya-Galvez, thank you.

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New Orleans

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New York

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Moscow

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Kyiv

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Istanbul

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Hong Kong Island

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Breakdown