National Guard shooting suspect charged with murder, held without bond
Rahmanullah Lakanwal | Courtesy: MGN
The suspect in last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., has been charged with murder and assault with intent to kill while armed. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was ordered held without bond during an initial court appearance Tuesday.
Lakanwal appeared virtually from a D.C. hospital, where he remains after being shot by law enforcement after allegedly shooting the two National Guard members, Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. Beckstrom, 20, died of her injuries, and Wolfe remains hospitalized in critical condition.
The magistrate judge overseeing Tuesday’s initial appearance said that the government’s case was “exceedingly strong.”
According to charging documents in the District of Columbia Superior Court, Lakanwal allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar!” as he fired his gun at Beckstrom and Wolfe. The phrase is Arabic for God is great. According to the documents, another National Guard member fired a service weapon and hit Lakanwal as he was reloading his gun. Lakanwal was also charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Security footage from the scene of the shooting cited in the charges shows Lakanwal standing near a popular subway stop located near the scene of the shooting, before “running in the direction of the intersection” where Wolfe and Beckstrom were walking.
After striking both Guard members with his initial rounds of shots, prosecutors allege that Lakanwal attempted to chase and shoot at another National Guard member nearby. In one screenshot of security footage, prosecutors allege that Lakanwal bent down next to Beckstrom and Wolfe after shooting them.
Last week, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that Lakanwal would be charged with additional crimes as the case proceeds: “There will be no stone left unturned.” Attorney General Pam Bondi said that she is considering seeking the death penalty for Lakanwal.
After the shooting, sources told CBS News that Lakanwal served on a CIA-backed operations team for about eight years and said that he suffered from PTSD.
He and his family fled Taliban threats in Afghanistan and were brought into the United States in 2021, and his asylum case was approved earlier this year. Over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested he could have “radicalized” after coming to the U.S. Emails obtained by CBS News also indicate that Lakanwal’s mental health had deteriorated in recent years and that he had become isolated and detached from his family.
The Trump administration has cited the attack as reason to further expand its ongoing immigration crackdown, halting all visa and immigration processing for Afghan nationals, and ordering a review of green card cases for immigrants from 19 countries.
Lakanwal’s next court appearance is scheduled for mid-January.
