Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members on Wednesday, worked alongside the CIA in Afghanistan before coming to the US four years ago, officials have said.
The suspect is accused of shooting two West Virginia troop members - Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24 - blocks from the White House.
"We are praying they survive, and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree," US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on Thursday.
Mr Lakanwal came to the US in 2021 under a programme that offered special immigration protections to Afghans in the wake of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan.
At a press conference on Thursday, Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel explained Mr Lakanwal's connection to US forces.
