FBI Director Kash Patel vowed to launch a manhunt for the shooter who wounded two National Guard members near the White House on Wednesday—only for an official to point out that a suspect is already in custody at a hospital.
The embattled FBI director, 45, found himself embarrassingly out of the loop during a news conference on the “targeted” shooting, which has left two guardsmen in critical condition.
“As you can see behind me, we have assembled the full force of both the federal and state and local law enforcement agencies to bring bare all of our resources to make sure we find the perpetrators responsible for this heinous act,” Patel declared. “And make no mistake, they will be brought to justice.”
Patel said the FBI would “lead out on that mission” with interagency partners before adding:
“We will short-change the American public with no resources to make sure we find and safeguard our nation’s capital right here in Washington, D.C., and bring anyone responsible for this heinous act of violence to justice.”
Next to speak was Metropolitan Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll, who noted that the suspect had been taken into custody at the scene of the shooting.
“At approximately 2:15 this afternoon, members of the D.C. National Guard were on high visibility patrols in the area of 17th and I Street, Northwest, when a suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard members,” Carroll said. The news conference began at around 4:45 p.m. ET.
“There were other members that were in the area, they were able to—after some back and forth—able to subdue the individual and bring them into custody. Within moments, members of law enforcement in the area were also able to assist and bring that individual into custody.”
Carroll said that the suspect had been transported to a local hospital “for treatment.” He said it appears the shooter acted alone but did not reveal the suspect’s name.
Law enforcement sources later identified Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, as the suspect, CBS and NBC reported.
The two guardsmen remain in critical condition.
When a reporter pressed Patel on his vow to “make sure we find the perpetrators” and asked for clarification that the suspect is indeed in custody, the FBI director only nodded and looked to Carroll.
Carroll replied that “no other suspects” had been identified and said video from the area appears to show a “lone gunman.”
At the end of the press conference, Patel jumped in to say, “I would just like to add, the reason that this suspect is in custody, is because of the bravery of the men and women of the National Guard who responded...”
When reached for comment on Patel’s remarks and whether the gunman acted alone, the FBI told the Daily Beast, “We don’t have anything further to provide beyond Director Patel’s remarks.”
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering replacing Patel amid headlines over his use of a government jet and claims that he insisted on SWAT protection for his country singer girlfriend. The White House has called the report “Fake News.”
But Patel’s tenure as FBI director was marked by controversy even before he faced a series of embarrassing claims about spending taxpayer dollars on what appeared to be private jaunts across the country.
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September, he faced MAGA’s wrath over bungling the manhunt for the right-wing activist’s killer.
Hours after Kirk, 31, was fatally shot at a Utah college, Patel wrote on X that the “subject for the horrific shooting… is now in custody,” before posting again less than two hours later to say the “subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.”
The suspected gunman, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was not arrested until the following evening.
Patel admitted he could have “worded” his announcements better but remained defiant during a subsequent appearance on Fox & Friends.
“I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing [it],” Patel added. “And I’m continuing to do that, and I challenge anyone out there to find a director that has been more transparent and more willing to work the media on high-profile cases, or any case the FBI is handling than we have been under my leadership.”
