Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks about Operation Midway Blitz at a National Guard aircraft hangar in Gary, Indiana, on Oct. 30.

Officials are still working to determine the potential motive of a man from Afghanistan accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, DC, said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

"We’re still going through all that information, and I’ll let the FBI and (Justice Department) reveal new information, but I will say, we believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem said of 29-year-old suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Lakanwal, who was subdued after the attack and hospitalized, is being investigated as a possible terrorist suspect in the Nov. 26 shooting that killed one National Guard member and critically wounded another just blocks away from the White House, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Lakanwal was charged with first-degree murder.

Noem said investigators believe Lakanwal was living in Washington state when he became radicalized “through connections in his home community and state.” Officials are working with the man's friends and family members for more information, Noem said.

In the aftermath of the shooting, President Donald Trump accused President Joe Biden’s administration of poorly vetting Afghan immigrants and other foreign nationals who entered the country. Lakanwal was granted asylum in April, during Trump's second term.

Lakanwal moved to the United States in 2021 as part of a Biden-era evacuation program for Afghans who worked with the American military, during which time he would have been vetted by US officials. He was part of a CIA-backed local unit in Afghanistan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said.

He applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and other media outlets.

Noem, during the NBC interview, said investigators are seeking more information from Lakanwal’s family and friends.

"Anyone who has the information on this needs to know that we will be coming after you, and we will bring you to justice," she said.

Since the shooting, Trump has zeroed in on some legal immigration pathways, including ordering a review of green card holders and a freeze on processing asylum claims from “third-world countries.” Noem reiterated the Trump administration's plan to pause some forms of immigration in light of the shooting.

“They will be properly vetted. They will have new standards put in place, applied to them to ensure they’re here for that purpose,” Noem said of asylum seekers. “Nobody's coming here until we’re sure they’re going to be someone who truly deserves that program.”

She alleged without evidence that as many as 100,000 Afghan people who came to the United States in 2021 as part of the evacuation plan "may be here to do us harm" and said Trump was "dedicated to getting them out of our country."

Asylum has long been recognized in the United States. Asylum seekers are people who have already come to the country and say they need to remain because of dangerous conditions in their home nation. They may be facing persecution for their race, religion, political views or other factors.

Asked by moderator Kristin Welker when the Trump administration would again process asylum applications from across the world, Noem said not until officials have “dealt with the backlog” of cases. The Department of Homeland Security would also consider deporting people who have pending asylum cases, she said.

"We are going to go through every single person that has a pending asylum claim," she said.

Contributing: Sarah D. Wire and Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kristi Noem alleges National Guard shooting suspect 'radicalized' in US

Reporting by Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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