Suspect Accused of Shooting National Guard Members Now Facing First-Degree Murder Charges

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. this week, is now facing first-degree murder charges, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced on Friday.

Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, allegedly shot two National Guard members near the Farragut West Metro Station, killing Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and wounding Andrew Wolfe, 24, who remains hospitalized in critical condition. Lakanwal was also shot in the aftermath and transported to a local hospital.

Thursday, Pirro had announced that Lakanwal was being charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, as well as three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. After Beckstrom died, those charges will now include first-degree murder, Pirro said during an appearance on Friday’s episode of Fox & Friends.

“Our hearts go out and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of a beautiful 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, who answered the call to serve her nation,” said Pirro. “And she volunteered, and she ended up being shot, ambush style, on the cold streets of Washington D.C. by an individual who will now be charged with murder in the first degree.”

“There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro continued, adding that they were hoping the investigation would find out more “about what actually happened in terms of this individual even being in this country and being in a position to ambush and shoot down an innocent young woman who was doing her duty to the people of this country.”

CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller reported that Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 under then-President Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome program, and he was approved for asylum in April by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin confirmed CNN’s reporting with her own sources. Lakanwal “worked for the CIA in Afghanistan out of Kandahar base, according to CIA director John Ratcliffe,” wrote Griffin in a social media post, adding that multiple sources told her “he was vetted before working with the CIA by the NCTC (National Counterterrorism Center) and the CIA.”

“I am told that Lakanwal was with the Task Force in Kandahar,” she added. “During the Afghan withdrawal, the CIA airlifted with the help of the US military many Afghan allies who had worked with the US government and took special care of those who were badged and worked with the agency. They were taken to bases in Qatar and Europe and then onward to military bases in the US where further vetting was supposed to take place. Having a CIA ID would have put him in the ‘vetted’ category. I am told there was nothing in his background when he arrived in the US on Sept 8, 2021 that suggested links to terrorism. He applied for asylum last year and reportedly received asylum in April under the Trump administration.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously said that the Department of Justice would do “everything in our power” to seek the death penalty for the accused shooter, adding that at minimum, he could be facing “life in prison with terrorism charges.”

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!