Suspect in shooting of National Guard members facing first-degree murder charge

Charges against a man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington DC have been upgraded to first-degree murder, prosecutors said.

The announcement came after the death of one of the soldiers.

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, were taken to hospital in critical condition after Wednesday afternoon’s shooting and President Donald Trump announced on Thursday evening that Spc Beckstrom had died.

On Thursday morning, Rahmanullah Lakanwal faced charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, but Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, suggested the charges would be upgraded if either of the victims did not survive.

Ms Pirro said Lakanwal drove across the country to launch an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver.

He initially faced charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Ms Pirro said “it’s too soon to say” what the suspect’s motives were.

People who knew the suspect say he served in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before migrating to the US.

The 29-year-old worked in one of the special Zero Units in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost, who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin.

He said the suspect was originally from the province and his brother had worked in the unit as well.

The cousin spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for the unit in 2012 and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist.

A former official from the unit said Lakanwal’s brother was a platoon leader.

Lakanwal entered the US in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration programme that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the US withdrawal from the country, officials said.

He applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his application was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, about 80 miles north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlady, Kristina Widman.

In his address to troops on Thursday, Mr Trump said Lakanwal “went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts”.

The president called Spc Beckstrom an “incredible person, outstanding in every single way”. The White House said he spoke to her parents after his remarks.

She enlisted in 2023, the same year she graduated high school, and served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said in a statement.

“She exemplified leadership, dedication and professionalism,” the statement said, adding that Spc Beckstrom “volunteered to serve as part of Operation DC Safe and Beautiful, helping to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s capital”.

Mr Trump used the announcement to say the shooting was a “terrorist attack” and criticised the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with US forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the US.

The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the country, many of whom had worked alongside US troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators.

It has since faced intense scrutiny from Mr Trump and others over allegations of gaps in the vetting process, but advocates say there was extensive vetting and the programme offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

On Wednesday night, the president called for the re-investigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration.

The director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow said the agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 “high-risk” countries “to the maximum degree possible”.

He did not name the countries but in June the administration banned travel to the US by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns.