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EXCLUSIVE — Darin “Taylor” Hoover’s father is expressing outrage towards the former Biden administration following an incident in which an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guardsmen near the White House. Hoover’s son was one of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing during the tumultuous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
In a recent statement to Fox News Digital regarding Wednesday’s shooting, Hoover linked the attack directly to what he perceives as the administration’s failure to adequately vet Afghan evacuees.
“This is on the feckless Biden administration,” Hoover asserted. “We had no idea who was getting into this country because the Biden administration, particularly the State Department led by Antony Blinken, failed to perform crucial vetting. Too many people were allowed onto the planes during the initial evacuation, leaving us unaware of their identities.”
He further emphasized, “The end result is that men of fighting age, who may be terrorists, are now on our soil, posing a threat to the United States of America. If the Biden administration had initiated this process sooner rather than adhering to a rushed timeline, the outcome could have been significantly improved, safeguarding our brave military personnel.”
The FBI is currently investigating the shooting, treating it as a potential act of international terrorism. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly ambushed the two West Virginia National Guardsmen, leading to his arrest shortly after the attack.
Reports indicate that Lakanwal arrived in the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, implemented immediately after Kabul’s fall. He allegedly has experience working with various U.S. government entities, including the CIA, while serving as part of a partner force in Kandahar.
Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe commented on the situation, stating, “The individual — and so many others — should never have been allowed into the country. Our citizens and service members deserve better than to face the consequences of the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.”
Hoover believes the recent shooting confirms the fears he and other Gold Star parents held during the mass evacuation of Afghans. They worried that numerous individuals entered the United States without sufficient screening and oversight.
“We had no idea who Biden put on those planes,” Hoover stated emphatically. “None.”
His grievances follow years of public outcry for accountability regarding the Abbey Gate attack, which claimed the lives of 13 American service members. These included his son Taylor, an 11-year Marine veteran who was engaged to be married and was on his third deployment to Afghanistan.
Hoover has been vocal about the Biden administration’s handling of the situation, making headlines in 2024 after President Biden falsely claimed during a presidential debate that no U.S. service members had died under his administration. Hoover recounted his feelings of “rage” upon hearing Biden’s denial of the deaths of the Abbey Gate 13.
“The rage, the absolute disgust that I felt hearing him say that — I started yelling back at the TV,” Hoover expressed. “He’s never acknowledged, not once, any of our kids. He’s never said their names.”
In the aftermath of the Abbey Gate attack, Hoover revealed that the Biden administration sent form letters to the families of the fallen service members a year after the incident.
“All 13 families received a canned letter,” he recounted. “It looked like a photocopy. We had absolutely no contact before or since.”
Hoover’s frustration over his inability to secure a meeting with President Biden was also part of his earlier statements.
“[Biden] doesn’t want to deal with us,” Hoover said previously. “He knows we’re confronting him, but he refuses to engage with us.”
This week, Hoover reiterated his concern about the recent shooting, which allegedly involved an Afghan national allowed into the United States during the chaotic withdrawal. He views this event as yet another reminder that the repercussions of the troubled evacuation continue to manifest on American soil.
According to federal officials, the investigation into the shooting remains active. Hoover is determined to keep speaking out until the families of the Abbey Gate fallen receive the answers they seek and until he sees accountability from the former administration for what he considers ongoing failures.
“This isn’t going away,” Hoover declared. “We’re not going away.”
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
