Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the Afghan suspect behind the shooting of two National Guard soldiers — one dead — in Washington D.C. last week was likely “radicalized since he’s been here in this country.”

Noem shared this conclusion made by law enforcement on Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” and on ABC News’ “This Week.”

“We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him,” Noem said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, came to the U.S. in August 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, which coincided with the U.S. military forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration. Lakanwal was a member of a CIA-trained strike force, which required stringent vetting for him to be a part of. He was granted asylum under the Trump administration in April this year.

Noem, echoing other accusations made by Trump officials, blamed the Biden administration of not properly vetting Lakanwal as well as tens of thousands of other Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan.

However, “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker stated that Lakanwal was granted asylum by the Trump administration and explicitly asked Noem if the Trump administration vetted him before giving him the seal of approval. Noem then shared that was supposed to be done prior to Lakanwal being brought to the United States.

“The vetting process happens when the person comes into the country, and Joe Biden completely did not vet any of these individuals,” Noem said.

“This individual waited until he got into the United States and then that application for asylum was opened under the Joe Biden administration, when he was the president in the White House and allowed that to go forward with the information that they provided. That’s the Biden administration’s responsibility.”

Noem also shared that President Donald Trump has created a new screening process to vet asylum seekers.

“The individuals who are here in this country on that program need to be vetted under our standards that we’re implementing under President Trump to ensure that they even should be in our country and, if they’re not, removed immediately,” Noem said.

Last week, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shared on X that “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”

Noem said that the asylum process will resume once the backlog of asylum cases requiring vetting is cleared.

The D.C. Department of Transportation is rolling out a new set of regulations and new costs for restaurants that want to hold on to their outdoor space.

Streateries were once a critical lifeline, helping restaurants stay afloat during the pandemic. Five years later, many remain fixtures in their neighborhoods and still generate much-needed revenue.

“They’re going to charge us extra for that, and we can’t afford it,” said Raja Shaukat, who owns La Grotta in Adams Morgan.

Shaukat says restaurants are already struggling to make ends meet. When News4 visited, his dining room was empty, and he says business has been slow.

Under the updated streatery rules, restaurants would face a new $260 permit fee plus $20 per square foot, and they’d be responsible for buying their own jersey barriers.

“We absolutely said no to them because there’s no point in having a streatery out,” Shaukat said. “[…] Plus, with the economy and what we are going through right now in D.C., we can’t afford it.”

DDOT says the changes are meant to make outdoor dining more uniform, while improving safety, accessibility and overall aesthetics. But some News4 spoke with say they’re disappointed by the stricter rules.

“I think it’s a real shame,” said Gwendolyn Reece, an Adams Morgan resident. “This has been such a boon to the neighborhood and to D.C generally. It’s about the only good thing to have actually come out of the pandemic.”

“It’s really added to the public ambiance of spaces where people can come and sit even if they’re patrons of businesses or not,” said Adams Morgan ANC Commissioner Peter Wood. “It’s changed the dynamics of who’s using the public space and for what reasons.”

But others say they won’t miss them. Nadi Saleh, who owns Queen’s Cafe Hookah, says the outdoor seating was fine in the summer months, but overall, the streateries haven’t helped his business.

“Having parking places for the people, it’s going to help our business a lot,” Saleh said. “I’ve been 21 years in business. Since they started to do this, business is going down a little bit.”

Even though temporary streatery permits expired on Sunday in the District, DDOT says it won’t begin enforcing rules on non-compliant streatery structures until early 2026.

D.C. police are adding more dates for two juvenile curfew zones in Navy Yard and U Street that will be in effect to deter large gatherings of kids and teens.

The Navy Yard restrictions cover Interstate 695 to the Anacostia River and from 8th Street, SE, to South Capitol Street.

The U Street perimeter covers V Street to Vermont Avenue, NW, and from 9th Street at Florida Avenue to 15th and T Streets.

These two zones were in effect on Nov. 15 and 16 as well.

Both juvenile curfew zones will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently signed emergency legislation to reinstate the summer juvenile curfew at 11 p.m. for youth under 18 years old.

Under the order, those under 18 are “prohibited from gathering in a group of nine or more in any public place or on the premises of any establishment” unless they are taking part in certain exempted activities, police said.

The youth curfew comes after a hectic Halloween night that brought hundreds of teens to Navy Yard.

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