Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, warned against blaming the broader Afghan community after a shooting near the White House left two National Guard members critically wounded.
Bennett said in a social media post on Thursday that while the suspected shooter should be held accountable, the entire Afghan community should not be punished for the actions of a single individual.
“I agree with @shawnjvandiver that the perpetrator should face accountability,” Bennett wrote. “But the entire Afghan community must not be punished due to the actions of one individual. That would be terribly unjust and complete nonsense. Cool heads must prevail.”
His remarks echoed those of Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, a US-based refugee advocacy group, who earlier said that the shooter alone was responsible for the crime and warned against using the incident to stigmatize Afghan refugees.
“The isolated and violent act of one individual must not become an excuse to define or diminish an entire community,” VanDiver said in a statement. He also expressed support for a “fact-based review” by US security agencies to understand how the incident occurred.
The comments come amid growing scrutiny of Afghan refugee policies following the arrest of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, who was taken into custody after allegedly opening fire on members of the West Virginia National Guard in what officials described as an ambush near the White House. The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon.
In the wake of the shooting, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced an indefinite suspension of immigration processing for Afghan nationals while it reviews its security and vetting protocols.
“The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,” the agency said in a post on X.
