Charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, according to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
Federal officials said Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were critically injured during a shooting Wednesday afternoon while deployed in Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trump’s federal mission that placed National Guard members on the streets and federalized the Metropolitan Police Department.
Trump announced late Thursday that Beckstrom had died.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said charges against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, now include one count of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and three firearm charges related to a violent crime.
In an interview on Fox News, Pirro said “many charges” are expected in addition to the upgraded murder charge.
Pirro emphasized investigators have been working continuously to determine a motive.
She said teams are executing warrants in Washington state—where Lakanwal lived in Bellingham—and in other regions of the country.
She described Beckstrom as someone who volunteered to serve and “ended up being shot ambush-style on the cold streets of Washington, D.C.”
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Wolfe remains in “very critical condition.”
Morrisey ordered flags to half-staff Friday in honor of Beckstrom, describing the Guardsmen as “two West Virginia heroes” who were serving the country when they were attacked.
President Trump called the shooting a “terrorist attack” and connected it to Afghan resettlement programs.
He again criticized the Biden administration for allowing Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the country.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to pause migration from poorer nations and remove millions of immigrants already in the U.S.
On Wednesday night, Trump called for all Afghan refugees admitted under Operation Allies Welcome to be reinvestigated.
Officials said Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome evacuation and resettlement program, created after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
According to the advocacy group #AfghanEvac, Lakanwal applied for asylum under the Biden administration, but his asylum was ultimately approved after Trump took office.
Lakanwal had been living in Bellingham, with his wife and five children.
His former landlord, Kristina Widman, confirmed he had been renting from her, and neighbors described him as quiet.
A neighbor, Mohammad Sherzad, told the Associated Press that Lakanwal attended the same mosque and spoke limited English.
Sherzad said several of Lakanwal’s children attended school with his and that community members had heard Lakanwal was having difficulty finding work.
He said Lakanwal “disappeared” from the neighborhood about two weeks ago.
People familiar with his past in Afghanistan said Lakanwal served in a CIA-backed military unit known as the Zero Units, which operated in frontline missions during the war.
An individual identifying himself as Lakanwal’s cousin told the AP—on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns—that Lakanwal joined the unit in 2012 as a security guard and was later promoted to team leader and GPS specialist.
A former unit official confirmed his brother was also a platoon leader.
Zero Units played a major role during the U.S. withdrawal, securing Kabul International Airport as evacuations unfolded.
Human rights groups previously linked the units to allegations of abuses, though many members also faced retaliation threats from the Taliban after the collapse of the Afghan government.
The West Virginia National Guard said Beckstrom enlisted in 2023, the same year she graduated high school.
She served as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company and volunteered for the security mission in Washington.
“She exemplified leadership, dedication, and professionalism,” the Guard said in a statement, adding that she joined Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful to help protect the nation’s capital.
Trump described Beckstrom as an “incredible person, outstanding in every single way.”
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director, Joseph Edlow, said the agency plans to conduct additional screening of people from 19 “high-risk” countries.
He did not list the countries but referenced national security restrictions implemented earlier this year that limited travel from 12 nations and imposed tighter rules on seven others.
Advocates of Operation Allies Welcome have maintained that extensive vetting already exists and the program saved lives of Afghans targeted for assisting the U.S. military.
As of Friday, investigators have not publicly identified a motive in the shooting.
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