WASHINGTON (WDNews) — Federal prosecutors have upgraded charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House, following the death of one of the soldiers.
The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced Friday that Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, now faces one count of first-degree murder, three counts of possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Authorities said the charges were elevated after 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries. The second soldier, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in “very critical condition,” according to West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Beckstrom’s honor.
People familiar with Lakanwal told The Associated Press he previously served in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before coming to the United States. A man identifying himself as Lakanwal’s cousin said he once worked in a special Zero Unit in Kandahar. He spoke anonymously out of fear of reprisals.
Officials said Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the federal program that evacuated Afghan allies after the U.S. withdrawal. He applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but it was approved after President Trump took office.
During a Thanksgiving call with service members Thursday, Trump said Lakanwal “went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts.”
On Wednesday night, Trump called for all Afghan refugees admitted under the Biden administration to be reinvestigated.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said the agency will increase screening for individuals from 19 “high-risk” countries “to the maximum degree possible.”
