FBI Director Kash Patel set out on Wednesday night to project calm authority after a shooting near the White House. He vowed to track down a suspect who had already been arrested hours earlier.
A clip widely shared on social media, Patel promised he would personally ensure that the man who shot two National Guard members was found and brought to justice. The statement was meant to show that the FBI was moving quickly, but by then, according to D.C. police and federal officials, the alleged gunman, who was wounded, had already been subdued at the scene.
The suspect, a 29-year-old Afghan national, was captured within minutes of the attack and transported under guard to a hospital. By the time Patel’s message was circulating online, investigators were already focused on evidence and charges, not on a search for a fugitive.
Local police and the Department of War told reporters the situation was under control: the suspect was in custody and two soldiers were in critical condition. At the same time, the country’s top law enforcement official was still speaking as if an armed attacker were loose in the capital.
If Patel had been just another political commentator, the mistake might have been dismissed as sloppy messaging. As FBI director, though, his words are expected to reflect current facts, not campaign-style drama. People inside law enforcement were left frustrated that his video painted an outdated picture and added confusion about what was actually happening.
Critics say the episode shows how political messaging is bleeding into basic public-safety updates. Once the arrest was confirmed, Patel could have adjusted his remarks, but he stuck with pledges to “find” the shooter and “bring him in,” even though the suspect was already under guard and facing a likely federal indictment.
🚨WTF IS GOING ON
After announcing they had the suspect in custody, a disheveled FBI Director Kash Patel vows to capture the suspect.
Did they NOT capture the suspect or does Patel just not know? pic.twitter.com/NUH8asbs2Q
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) November 26, 2025
Republican hard-liners quickly folded the case into a wider political fight. Within hours of the shooting, they were using it to attack Afghan resettlement and call for tougher immigration policies. Senator Tommy Tuberville urged a ban on what he called “all Islam immigrants” and pushed for mass deportations, while allies of Trump pointed to the case as proof that refugee screening had failed.
Investigators working the case were said to be irritated. From their point of view, the video made it look as if law enforcement had lost control of a suspect who was already in custody. That kind of message can blur the public’s grasp of the basics and give more fuel to people who are primed to suspect that officials are hiding something.
So far, Patel has not corrected or clarified what he said at the time of writing this report.
