Afghan evacuee charged with murder in National Guard shooting

Authorities on Tuesday charged a former CIA asset with murder and weapons counts in the shooting of two National Guard members blocks from the White House.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal was charged with first-degree murder and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the attack, which investigators described as an ambush.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday that Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remained in serious condition but had shown signs of improvement. Both were serving in the West Virginia National Guard.

Lakanwal, 29, appeared by video from a hospital, having been seriously wounded himself.

Lakanwal, a former member of a special CIA unit, who fought the Taliban alongside American forces, came to the U.S. in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, a program designed to support and safely resettle at-risk Afghans. He had been living with his family in the Bellingham area of Washington state and was granted asylum in April.

Shortly after the shooting, The Associated Press reported a conversation with an anonymous community member who in early 2024 expressed concerns over Lakanwal’s behavior.

MS NOW reviewed two emails that appear to match those first reported by the AP documenting those concerns. The emails, both dated January 2024, were provided to MS NOW by a source connected with the community member. The source provided the documents on condition of anonymity.

In an email written Jan. 31, 2024, the community member said Lakanwal had “not been functional as a person, father and provider since March” of 2023. “Не spends most of his time for weeks on end in his darkened bedroom, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife and older kids,” the person wrote.

The person described “manic episodes for one or two weeks at a time where he will take off in the family car, and drive nonstop” to cities days away, for no apparent reason.

Despite objections from local officials, Trump called in approximately 2,000 National Guard troops from other states, including about 160 from West Virginia, to the nation’s capital in August to crack down on what he called “out of control crime.” The District of Columbia sued the administration, and a federal judge in November ruled the deployment illegal, saying the federal government had exceeded its authority.

The ruling is not set to take effect until Dec. 11, however, to allow for appeal proceedings.

During Monday’s news conference, Morrisey spoke in support of the deployment and said he thinks “the mission has been largely successful.”

Emily Hung contributed to this report.