The quiet hum of an ordinary Washington morning was shattered last week when gunfire echoed near a subway station steps from the White House. Now, the man accused of unleashing that burst of violence—an attack that left one National Guard member dead and another fighting for life—has entered a plea of not guilty, speaking from a hospital bed miles away from the courtroom.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, appeared weak and drowsy as a translator relayed each word of the half-hour hearing. The judge, unmoved by his condition, ordered him held without bond, describing the ambush as an act that “spread sheer terror” across one of the most heavily guarded corners of the nation’s capital.
According to the criminal complaint, Lakanwal traveled nearly 3,000 miles from Washington state with a mission prosecutors say was far from accidental. The attack unfolded in seconds: shots fired, chaos erupting, and the lives of two young soldiers—Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24—irreversibly changed. Beckstrom died the next day. Wolfe survived with critical injuries.
Witnesses and members of the Guard subdued the shooter after a major from the West Virginia Guard fired back, ending the confrontation before it spread further into the city.
Lakanwal faces four charges, including first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill while armed. The complaint describes scenes of panic punctuated by the words he allegedly shouted as he opened fire.
His defense pointed to his clean record. Prosecutors pointed to his cross-country travel, the weapon in his hand, and the devastation left behind.
Lakanwal’s immigration history quickly ignited political debate. He arrived in the U.S. in 2021 under a program designed to resettle Afghans who aided the United States during the war. He later received asylum—now a focal point in the broader clash over immigration policy amid the administration’s sweeping enforcement campaign.
As makeshift memorials grow near the scene of the shooting, the case heads toward its next chapter, leaving Washington to grapple with a violent act carried out in the shadow of its most powerful institutions.
