An Afghan national has been charged with first-degree murder in the ambush-style shooting that killed 20-year-old National Guardswoman Sarah Beckstrom just blocks from the White House last week, federal prosecutors announced.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Dec. 2 statement that 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal drove from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to downtown Washington, D.C., where he allegedly opened fire without provocation on two West Virginia National Guard members Nov. 26. Beckstrom died the following day from injuries sustained, while her fellow guardsman, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, was critically wounded and remains hospitalized.
A Washington, D.C., Superior Court judge found probable cause for charges including first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill, and multiple firearm offenses, according to the DOJ.
Lakanwal, who was injured during the shooting, attended the hearing remotely from a hospital bed and was ordered to be held without bond pending a preliminary hearing, FOX News reported. He pleaded not guilty.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the DOJ intends to seek the death penalty.
As CatholicVote previously reported, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome Program, which resettled Afghans following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. FOX reported that his asylum application was approved in April 2025 under the Trump administration.