Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of #AfghanEvac, a U.S. nonprofit operated by American veterans helping to evacuate and resettle Afghan allies in the U.S., said the Afghan national identified as the suspect in the National Guard shooting in Washington, D.C., "betrayed everybody who helped him."
Rahmanullah Lakamal "betrayed his family. He betrayed every American that helped him get here," VanDiver said, according to the New York Post.
"He betrayed the United States government. And he deserves to be held fully accountable.
"But Afghan families did not do this," he said.
Officials say Lakamal, one of about 76,000 Afghans brought to the United States after the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. from their country as the Taliban took over, shot two National Guard members.
Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Lakamal entered the U.S. in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the resettlement program created after the Afghanistan withdrawal.
After the shooting, President Donald Trump said his administration would review all Afghans admitted under the program, a process officials noted had already been planned before the attack.
Lakamal, 29, worked with the CIA "as a member of a partner force in Kandahar," CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement Thursday. He didn't specify what Lakamal did for America's spy agency.
He was granted asylum in April under the Trump administration, according to #AfghanEvac.
Like all asylum seekers, he would have had to undergo fingerprinting and iris scans, a full background check and interview, and a risk assessment, the organization said.
VanDiver said many Afghans living in the U.S. are afraid to leave their houses, fearing they will be swept up by immigration officials or attacked with hate speech.
"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," he said.
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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