The Justice Department announced it will seek the death penalty for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House in November. The shooting, which took place three blocks from the White House, left Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, age 20, dead and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, age 24, critically injured.
Lakanwal, 29, pleaded not guilty to nine federal charges—including first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill—during his initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday (February 4). The case, originally in D.C. Superior Court, was moved to U.S. District Court to allow the federal government to consider the death penalty. There is no death penalty in D.C. Superior Court.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said, “Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old when she was killed and her parents are now forced to endure the holiday season without their daughter. Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived but has a long road ahead in his recovery.” Beckstrom and Wolfe were in Washington, D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge, which deployed additional federal agents and troops in the city.
Court documents show that Lakanwal drove from Bellingham, Washington, to Washington, D.C., bringing with him a stolen .357 Smith & Wesson revolver that he had acquired from an acquaintance in mid-November. After purchasing additional ammunition and searching for directions to Washington, D.C., Lakanwal arrived in the capital and allegedly ambushed the two Guard members outside a subway station.
Lakanwal, an Afghan national, previously worked with the American government as a “member of a partner force” in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that resettled thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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