Fear and Backlash: Afghan Refugees React to National Guard Shooting

Fri Nov 28 2025 08:26:53 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

An Afghan national's attack on National Guard soldiers sparks fear and concern among Afghan refugees in the U.S., who worry about backlash and discrimination as authorities seek to address immigration policies.

After an Afghan expatriate, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly shot two National Guard Soldiers in Washington, D.C., Afghan communities face rising fears of backlash. Refugee advocates highlight the risk of collective punishment as authorities review immigration policies following the attack. Organizations like #AfghanEvac and Displaced International call for separating individual actions from the characterization of refugee communities as a whole.

SEATTLE (AP) — People who work with refugees are worried that those who fled dangerous situations to start again in America will face backlash after authorities say an Afghan national shot two National Guard soldiers this week.

Many Afghans living in the U.S. are afraid to leave their houses fearing they’ll be swept up by immigration officials or attacked with hate speech, said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based group #AfghanEvac, which helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

“They’re terrified. It’s insane,” VanDiver told The Associated Press Thursday. “People are acting xenophobic because of one deranged man. He doesn’t represent all Afghans. He represents himself.”

Officials say Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, drove from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to the nation’s capital where he shot two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Lakanwal had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before emigrating from Afghanistan, according to #AfghanEvac and two sources who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity due to the situation's sensitivity.

He applied for asylum during the Biden administration and his asylum was approved this year after undergoing thorough vetting, the group said.

After the shooting, President Donald Trump stated that his administration would review everyone who entered from Afghanistan under former President Joe Biden — a measure that had been discussed even before the shooting.

Refugee groups fear they’ll now be considered guilty by association. Ambassador Ashraf Haidari, founder of Displaced International, which provides resources and advocacy for displaced people worldwide, emphasized that while there must be justice for the harmed, one individual’s actions should not overwhelm entire communities.

Matthew Soerens, a vice president with World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization, echoed the need to separate one person's wrongdoing from the collective identity of a community. “Regardless of the alleged perpetrator’s nationality or religion,” he said, “we urge the nation to recognize these actions as those of one person, not to unfairly judge others who happen to share those same characteristics.”