The suspect in a fatal shooting targeting two U.S. National Guard members in Washington, D.C., will be charged with first-degree murder following the death of one of the victims, media reports said on Friday.
"There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree," Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told Fox News.
The shooting occurred around 2.15 pm local time (1915GMT) on Wednesday near the Farragut West Metro station in the U.S. capital.
The victims, Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both from the nearby state of West Virginia, were reportedly ambushed.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Beckstrom’s death Thursday evening, saying: “She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now.”
“The other young man is fighting for his life,” president Trump added, referring to Wolfe.
Suspect drove across country to Washington
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly drove across the country from Washington state in the northwestern U.S. to the capital and opened fire “without provocation, ambush style,” Pirro said. He reportedly used a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver.
Lakanwal was initially charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill along with criminal possession of a weapon.
According to FBI Director Kash Patel, a search of Lakanwal’s home in Bellingham in Washington state uncovered “numerous electronic devices.”
The FBI is also investigating his “relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces,” Patel said. U.S. officials said Thursday that, Lakanwal had worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan before August 2021, when the Afghan government fell to Taliban forces.
Law enforcement sources said Lakanwal, originally from Afghanistan, came to the U.S. in 2021, applied for asylum in 2024, and was granted it in April. He reportedly struggled financially due to an expired work permit.
Many former U.S. allies in Afghanistan applied to live in the US after 2021, as they had worked against the Taliban and feared for their safety.
The National Guard was deployed to Washington, D.C. in August, as part of a controversial Trump administration initiative said to target safer streets. Many of the cities involved resisted the deployment, saying it was not needed and created a dangerous precedent in sending the military to American soil without good reason.
Nearly 2,200 members of the guard are currently still stationed in Washington.
Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed direct flights on Thursday for the first time since 2012, when the Sheikh Hasina administration suspended the Dhaka-Ka...
Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday resumed direct flight services after 14 years, marking a milestone in the revival of relations between the two Mus...
Truck drivers in two of the four Balkan states protesting against the EU’s tightened entry-exit rules stepped back on Thursday, easing some pressure...
Türkiye is increasingly becoming one of the world’s new geopolitical power hubs, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Thursday during a joint...
Iran’s armed forces are prepared to “immediately and powerfully” respond to any U.S. attack, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, as Amer...
Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday resumed direct flight services after 14 years, marking a milestone in the revival of relations between the two Muslim-majority nations.
Türkiye is increasingly becoming one of the world’s new geopolitical power hubs, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Thursday during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
Iran’s armed forces are prepared to “immediately and powerfully” respond to any U.S. attack, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, as American military assets arrived in the Middle East amid renewed tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to halt attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for one week, citing extreme cold weather across Ukraine.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Liverpool confirmed direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 with a 6-0 win over Qarabağ at Anfield in their final league-phase match. Despite the setback, Qarabağ secured a play-off spot, with results elsewhere going in the Azerbaijani champions’ favour on the final matchday.
China is supplying key industrial equipment that has enabled Russia to speed up production of its newest nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, an investigation by The Telegraph has found, heightening concerns in Europe over Moscow’s ability to threaten the West despite international sanctions.
Storm Kristin has killed at least five people and left more than 850,000 residents of central and northern Portugal without electricity on Wednesday (28 January), as it toppled trees, damaged homes, and disrupted road and rail traffic before moving inland to Spain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to assist in rebuilding Syria’s war-damaged economy as the country's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa made his second visit to Moscow in less than four months on Wednesday (28 January).
The European Commission has announced €153 million ($183 million) in emergency aid for Ukraine, alongside €8 million ($9.5 million) to support Moldova, which hosts large numbers of Ukrainian refugees.
Burkina Faso’s military-led government has dissolved all political parties and ordered their assets transferred to the state under a decree adopted by the authorities.
Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed direct flights on Thursday for the first time since 2012, when the Sheikh Hasina administration suspended the Dhaka-Karachi route on what it described as security grounds.
Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday resumed direct flight services after 14 years, marking a milestone in the revival of relations between the two Muslim-majority nations.
Truck drivers in two of the four Balkan states protesting against the EU’s tightened entry-exit rules stepped back on Thursday, easing some pressure on major cargo routes, while colleagues in Bosnia and Serbia kept their lines of trucks in place.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment