Afghans in US make plea to Trump after ‘tragic’ shooting in Washington DC

Afghans living in the United States condemned Wednesday’s “extremely tragic” fatal shooting in Washington, D.C., while stressing that the suspect, who immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan four years ago, does not represent them.

The accused gunman, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the United States under a program that provides special immigration protections to Afghans who cooperate with the United States after the U.S. withdraws troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in Wednesday’s shooting, while fellow officer Andrew Wolfe, 24, is said to be fighting for his life.

In response, U.S. President Donald Trump has stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghans, ordered a review of green cards issued to individuals from 19 countries and threatened a wider crackdown on immigrants from what he calls “third world countries.”

The American Alliance of Afghan Communities expressed sympathy for the families of the victims and called for a “comprehensive investigation” but urged the U.S. government not to delay or suspend Afghan immigration applications.

The alliance’s statement said “the two decades of Arab-American partnership must not be forgotten” and praised the two-decade U.S. effort launched in 2001 to oust Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and establish security in the country.

Afghans living in the US told the BBC they were shocked by the attack in Washington DC, which they stressed was the act of one man.

They spoke anonymously for fear of Taliban reprisals. The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan after the U.S. troop withdrawal in 2021.

An Afghan who took action after the U.S. troop withdrawal called Wednesday’s events “very tragic.” He pointed to the timing before Thanksgiving and the “highly charged political environment in Washington, D.C.”

But he stressed that the shooting was an “individual criminal offense and not representative of the community.”

“Afghans in the United States are hard-working, tax-paying members of society,” he added. “They remain grateful for the evacuation efforts the United States did during the Kabul crisis.”

In 2021, thousands of Afghans scrambled to flee the country, many through Kabul, as U.S. troops withdrew and the Taliban launched a major incursion.

U.S. officials said the suspect, Mr. Lakanwal, had a relationship with U.S. troops while they were stationed in Afghanistan. A former military commander who fought alongside him told the BBC that he helped guard US troops at Kabul airport during the withdrawal.

In the same year he came to the United States. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was approved earlier this year, an official told BBC partner CBS News.

Another Afghan, who also immigrated to the United States after withdrawing from Afghanistan four years ago, called Wednesday’s shooting “really shocking.” He said he was praying for the families of the victims.

He suspected it was an “individual crime committed without the support, participation and cooperation of others” and said the attack “should not be counted against the community as a whole”.

Another Afghan man living in the United States told the BBC that the shootings were “a devastating event for all migrants”, adding that the political response had left many in a state of uncertainty.

“The Trump administration wants to reevaluate the immigration process, which is very bad for everyone,” he said. “It’s time-consuming, and no one knows what to expect.”

He said the situation was exacerbated by threats from countries of origin: “For us Afghans, we face problems both in Afghanistan and here.”