Name: National Guardsmen Shooting Suspect Facing First-Degree Murder Charge
Uploaded: 2025-12-02T15:09:48.000Z
Description: A motive for the shooting is under investigation.

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The charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guardsmen in Washington on Nov. 26 have been upgraded to murder after one of the victims died.

Afghanistan native Rahmanullah Lakanwal now faces one count of first-degree murder, three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced the upgraded charges on Friday.

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was hospitalized after Wednesday's shooting but succumbed to her wounds the next day on Thanksgiving.

Beckstrom enlisted the same year she graduated from high school in 2023. According to the West Virginia National Guard, Beckstrom served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company,
Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition. President Donald Trump said on Thursday night that Wolfe was “fighting for his life.”

Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed to the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on rampant crime in several cities.

Lakanwal allegedly opened fire on the two soldiers while they were on patrol just two blocks from the White House in what authorities described as a targeted attack.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she would push prosecutors to seek the death penalty against the suspect.

Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country.

Trump has called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered the United States under the Biden administration.

Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration.

Nonprofit organization <a href="https://afghanevac.org/about">#AfghanEvac</a> condemned the attack but also claimed that Afghan refugees already face a comprehensive vetting process.

“Afghan immigrants and wartime allies who resettle in the United States undergo some of the most extensive security vetting of any population entering the country,” the <a href="https://x.com/afghanevac/status/1993872495230042266?s=20">statement</a> reads. “As with any serious crime, authorities will examine how this happened and whether any systems failed–and we support a fact-based review.

“But nothing we learn will change the simple truth that this individual alone is responsible for his actions. This individual's isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community.”

A motive for the shooting is under investigation.

<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

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