Suspect in shooting of National Guard members now facing a first-degree murder charge

WASHINGTON AP The charges against the man who officials say shot two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died the U S attorney for the District of Columbia publicized Friday Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe were hospitalized in critical condition after Wednesday afternoon s shooting in the nation s capital President Donald Trump informed Thursday evening that Beckstrom had died U S Attorney Jeanine Pirro s office noted the charges Rahmanullah Lakanwal now faces include one count of first-degree murder three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed Pirro revealed Lakanwal drove across the country to launch an ambush-style attack with a Smith Wesson revolver but revealed that it s too soon to say what the motives were People who knew the suspect say he served in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before immigrating to the United States Lakanwal worked in one of the special Zero Units in the southern province of Kandahar according to a resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal s cousin He explained Lakanwal was originally from the province and that his brother had worked in the unit as well The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals He noted Lakanwal had started out working as a assurance guard for the unit in and was later promoted to become a group leader and a GPS specialist A former official from the unit who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation noted Lakanwal s brother was a platoon leader Lakanwal entered the U S in through Operation Allies Welcome a Biden administration activity that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U S withdrawal from the country administrators reported Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration AfghanEvac noted in a comment Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham Washington about miles kilometers north of Seattle with his wife and five children mentioned his former landlord Kristina Widman In his address to the troops Thursday Trump commented that Lakanwal went cuckoo I mean he went nuts The president called Beckstrom an incredible person outstanding in every single way The White House disclosed he spoke to her parents after his remarks Beckstrom had enlisted in the same year she graduated high school and served with distinction as a military police officer with the rd Military Police Company the West Virginia National Guard revealed in a declaration She exemplified leadership dedication and professionalism the report reported adding that Beckstrom volunteered to serve as part of Operation D C Safe and Beautiful helping to ensure the safety and safeguard of our nation s capital Trump used the announcement to say the shooting was a terrorist attack and criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with U S forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the U S The initiative brought roughly people to the country multiple of whom had worked alongside U S troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over claims of gaps in the vetting process even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the operation offered a lifeline to people at liability of Taliban reprisals On Wednesday night Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration The director of U S Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow reported in a declaration that the agency would take additional approaches to screen people from high-risk countries to the maximum degree accomplishable Edlow didn t name the countries But in June the administration banned voyage to the U S by citizens of countries and restricted access from seven others citing national measure concerns