The man arrested for ambushing and shooting two National Guard members the day before Thanksgiving will now face a first-degree murder charge, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday. Pirro announced the upgraded charge after officials confirmed Thursday that one of the victims, 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries in a D.C. area hospital, the Washington Times reported.
Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is also facing three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Beckstrom’s father, Gary Beckstrom, wrote on Facebook, “My baby girl has passed to glory. If I don’t talk to you don’t be offended this has been a horrible tragedy.”
Pirro said Friday on “Fox & Friends” that there are “many more charges to come,” including murder in the first degree. Beckstrom volunteered to work duty over the holiday, Pirro said, and “she ended up being shot ambush style on the cold streets of Washington, D.C.”
Lakanwal, an Afghan national who lived in Bellingham, Washington, was arrested moments after the ambush near Farragut Square Park, two blocks from the White House. Reports said that he allegedly overstayed his visa and was living illegally in the U.S.
He is charged with shooting Beckstrom and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, the latter of whom is still fighting for his life.
Both guardsmen were members of the West Virginia National Guard deployed to Washington at the request of President Trump to help strengthen safety in the city.
Beckstrom, of Webster Springs, West Virginia, served with the National Guard’s 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, and had been deployed in the District since August.
The shooting suspect arrived in the United States on Sept. 8, 2021, as part of the evacuation flights arranged under President Biden to remove Afghans who had assisted U.S. military forces during the fall of Kabul.
President Trump said the suspect later had his status extended under “legislation signed by President Biden,” though it remains unclear which measure applied.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspect had since been approved for asylum but declined to provide additional details.
Trump delivered a tragic update on the ambush that targeted two members of the National Guard in Washington, DC this week.
Lakanwal arrived in the United States under the Biden administration, having previously worked with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan.
President Trump blamed Joe Biden and his immigration policies for allowing Lakanwal into the country.
A reporter asked the president why he blamed Biden, prompting a sharp exchange.
“Because they let him! Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane, along with thousands of other people that shouldn’t be here,” President Trump replied.
“My baby girl has passed to glory,” Beckstrom’s father Gary wrote on Facebook. “If I don’t talk to you don’t be offend this has been a horrible tragedy.”
Lakanwal reportedly entered the United States legally in 2021 under humanitarian parole through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program following the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
“The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price,” Trump wrote on Truth Social the day of the shootings.
“God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People,” he added.
