United States authorities say Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the
suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members, previously worked with
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan.
Lakanwal opened fire on Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew
Wolfe, 24, on Wednesday about a mile from the White House, prompting a
lockdown.
On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump said Beckstrom
succumbed to her injuries while Wolfe “is fighting for his life”.
Trump called the shooter an “animal”, assuring he would pay
a steep price.
Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), said “there is confirmation that the suspect had a relationship in
Afghanistan with partner forces”.
Patel said the FBI has launched a broad based terrorism
investigation into that aspect of Lankanwal’s background and to know if he had
any associates.
In a separate statement, John Ratcliffe, CIA director, said
the suspect was brought to the US due to his “prior work with the U.S.
Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar”.
Ratcliffe added that the alleged shooter came to the US in
the wake of the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.
Lakanwal arrived in the US in 2021 as part of ‘Operation
Allies Welcome’. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted one in April
2025.
A former military commander who served alongside him told
the BBC’s Afghan Service that Lakanwal was a GPS tracker specialist.
The “sporty and jolly character” helped guard US forces at
Kabul airport as thousands scrambled to escape Afghanistan before the Taliban
took power.
His unit was known locally as Scorpion Forces, operating
initially under the CIA but eventually for the Afghan intelligence department
known as the National Directorate of Security.
Lakanwal’s unit was moved from Kandahar to Kabul five days
before the Taliban entered the capital. They continued to protect the airport
for another six days, before they too were airlifted to the US.
Jeanine Pirro, US attorney, said the suspect will be charged
with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, as well as
possession of a firearm.
Pirro had spoken before news of Beckstrom’s passing.
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