Gold Star Father Criticizes Biden Administration After Afghan National Allegedly Shoots Two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — November 29, 2025 — The father of Staff Sgt. Darin “Taylor” Hoover, one of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, sharply criticized the Biden administration after an Afghan national allegedly ambushed and shot two National Guardsmen near the White House on Wednesday.

Hoover told Fox News Digital that the shooting was a direct consequence of inadequate vetting of Afghan evacuees by the administration. “This is on the feckless Biden administration,” he said, citing failures by the State Department under Antony Blinken to properly vet individuals who were evacuated. “We had no idea who was getting into this country because the Biden administration… didn’t do the work that was needed to vet all these people. There were so many people put on the planes that got out initially, that we have no idea who they were.”

He added that many of those evacuated were men of fighting age who could pose a threat to the United States. Hoover suggested that an earlier and more thorough vetting process might have prevented such incidents and better protected U.S. military personnel.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, which multiple intelligence sources say is being treated as a possible act of international terrorism. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was taken into custody after allegedly ambushing two West Virginia National Guardsmen.

Lakanwal reportedly entered the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, following the fall of Kabul. He had worked with several U.S. government entities, including the CIA, as part of a partner force in Kandahar.

Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital that Lakanwal and others like him should not have been allowed entry into the U.S., criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the evacuation and vetting process. “Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures,” Ratcliffe said.

The incident has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s policies during the Afghanistan withdrawal and the subsequent resettlement of Afghan nationals in the United States. Gold Star families, including the Hoovers, have expressed frustration and concern over what they describe as lapses in national security and vetting procedures.

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing, with authorities continuing to assess the circumstances and motives behind the attack.