The gunman accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. is facing an upgraded charge now that one of the victims has died, U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro announced Friday.
“There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” She added the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan citizen Rahmanullah Lakanwal, “should” pay “the ultimate price” for carrying out the deadly shooting in downtown D.C. on Wednesday afternoon.
Lakanwal, armed with an a powerful .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson revolver, allegedly “opened fire without provocation, ambush style” around 2 p.m. near the Farragut Square Metro stop, just miles away from the White House, Pirro said. He shot 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, before being shot himself by another member of the National Guard.
The following day, President Trump announced Beckstrom’s death during a Thanksgiving press conference Thursday evening, remembering her as a “highly respected, young, magnificent person” and “outstanding in every way.”
“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now,” Trump said of Beckstrom. “Her parents are with her. It’s just happened.”
Wolfe, meanwhile, remains in critical condition. He is still “fighting for his life” and “in very bad shape,” the President added. “Hopefully we’ll get better news with respect to him.”
Both soldiers, members of the West Virginia National Guard, had been deployed to the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on what it has declared rampant crime in several major U.S. cities.
Beckstrom, a Somerville resident, joined the service in June 2023, the same year she graduated from Webster County High School.
“She volunteered to serve as part of Operation DC Safe and Beautiful helping to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s capital,” the West Virginia National Guard said in the statement. “Her loss is felt profoundly across our One Guard Family and throughout the Mountain State.”
According to officials, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program that evacuated and resettled Afghan allies who worked with U.S. troops during the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He ‘d been living in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children and working as a delivery driver, according to officials.
Lakanwal was initially charged with assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence over the bloodshed.
“It is a premeditated murder,” Pirro said Friday. “There was an ambush with a gun toward people who didn’t know it was coming.”
The upgraded charges come after Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to “do everything in our power to seek the death penalty against that monster.”
With News Wire Services
