Man Accused In DC National Guard Shooting Charged With Murder, Other Offenses: Reports

WASHINGTON, DC — The man accused of fatally shooting a National Guard member and critically injuring another on Thanksgiving Eve in Washington, D.C., has been charged with first-degree murder, assault and other firearms offenses, according to a report citing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal was charged in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday with first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill while armed, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, the Washington Post reported.

Lakanwal is accused of killing U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and injuring 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe in what officials called a targeted act of violence.

Lakanwal, who was hospitalized after being shot during the incident, appeared in court virtually from his hospital bed on Tuesday, CNN reported. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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Prosecutors are expected to file additional charges as the case advances, according to the Post. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she is considering seeking the death penalty.

Beckstrom and Wolfe were shot on Wednesday near Farragut Square, just blocks from the White House, while deployed as part of President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting plan that federalized D.C. police.

Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant chief at the Metropolitan Police Department, said the suspect in the shooting “came around the corner” and “immediately started firing a firearm” at the troops, according to video reviewed by law enforcement.

Carroll said the National Guard in the area heard the gunfire and immediately responded.

Responding law enforcement were then able to “hold down the suspect after he had been shot.”

Wolfe remains in serious condition but showed positive signs by giving a thumbs-up that he could hear a nurse’s question and wiggling his toes, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday.

“Andrew is still fighting for his life,” Morrisey said. “Andrew needs prayers.”

Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan national who came to the United States under the Operation Allies Welcome program in 2021 that gave some Afghans who had worked for the U.S. government entry visas.

Lakanwal resettled with his wife and their five sons, all under the age of 12, in Bellingham, Washington, but struggled, according to a community member who shared emails that had been sent to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants with The Associated Press.

According to the emails, Lakanwal had been unraveling for years, unable to hold a job and flipping between long, lightless stretches of isolation and taking sudden weekslong cross-country drives.

Lakanwal's behavior deteriorated so sharply that a community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal, the emails revealed.

"Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly,” the person wrote in a January 2024 email.

The shooting prompted the Trump administration to halt all asylum decisions and pause issuing visas for people traveling on Afghan passports.

After the shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump asked him to send 500 more National Guard members to Washington. Morrisey said he has not been asked to deploy additional troops from West Virginia.

Overall, nearly 2,200 troops are currently assigned to the joint task force operating in the city, according to the government’s latest update. More than 300 West Virginia National Guard members were deployed in August. In mid-November, up to 170 of them volunteered to extend their deployment until the end of the year, while the others returned to West Virginia.

“Our sole focus right now is looking after the well-being of the 170 service members who are on the ground, focusing on the family, assuring that prayers are going out,” Morrisey said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.