FBI Reveals Details on Seized Electronic Devices Following Attack on National Guard Members

FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday that electronic devices were among the items seized after search warrants were executed in Washington state and San Diego in the investigation of a suspect who allegedly shot two National Guard members in the nation’s capital.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, is accused of carrying out a targeted, ambush-style shooting of Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Spc. Sarah Beckstrom of the West Virginia National Guard on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., just blocks from the White House. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. Both Guard members remain in critical condition.
Patel said in a news conference that aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform, “Firearm and other materials have been sent to our Quantico laboratory already yesterday for immediate analysis.” He added, “That work is ongoing. Partnering with the D.C. United States Attorney’s Office, we have also executed multiple search warrants around the country to include the subject’s last known residence, which is in the state of Washington.”
Patel said the electronic devices were seized at the suspect’s residence in Bellingham, Washington, and information uncovered there led investigators to San Diego. “Thanks to the quick investigation by the interagency and the FBI, we were able to track down his last known residence, working with the United States Attorney’s offices here and at the Department of Justice and prosecutors across the country,” Patel said. “We were able to serve search warrant literally overnight and through the night, and we were able to hit the house in Washington state. During that process, we seized numerous electronic devices to include cellphones, laptops, iPads and other material that is being analyzed as we speak.”
Lakanwal, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire before he was captured, entered the U.S. in 2021 following the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Department of Homeland Security said he came in under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program to resettle thousands of Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the Afghanistan war and feared reprisals after the Taliban seized control of the country. “This individual is in this country for one reason and one reason alone, because of the disastrous withdrawal from the Biden administration and the failure to vet in any way, shape or form this individual and countless others,” Patel said. “And this administration has taken the rightful step to stop any further allowance of people with dissimilar background into the country. And we’re thankful for that.”
Patel’s remarks came the same day U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reportedly announced it would indefinitely suspend immigration processing for Afghan nationals — a move the Trump administration said was prompted by Wednesday’s shooting.

The article is based on information from Newsmax, but without mentioning other media outlets or adding extra context.