The Afghan national suspected of killing one National Guardsman and wounding another in Washington, D.C., last week was “radicalized” after coming into the United States, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Noem told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the federal government believes 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal maintained “connections” to people in Afghanistan who may have helped radicalize him. Lakanwal was allowed to enter the United States under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome following the former president’s disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
“I will say we believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem said. “We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members, who talk to them.”
Lakanwal is accused of shooting National Guardsmen Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe on the day before Thanksgiving, killing Beckstrom and seriously wounding Wolfe. The suspected shooter was injured by return fire, but he is expected to survive and stand trial. Lakanwal was charged with first-degree murder, with more charges expected to be handed down as the investigation continues. President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrorist attack,” saying that the suspect “went nuts.”
“It happens too often with these people,” Trump added.
The suspected shooter was granted asylum in the United States after serving alongside U.S. troops in a special Afghan Army unit that was backed by the CIA, the Associated Press reported. Noem blamed the Biden administration for failing to properly vet Afghan refugees who were granted asylum in the United States. Lakanwal’s asylum claim was approved in April under the Trump administration, but Noem said “the vetting process all happened under Joe Biden’s administration.”
“Vetting is happening when they come into the country, and that was completely abandoned under Joe Biden’s administration,” Noem added.
Lakanwal reportedly exhibited troubling behavior long before he attacked National Guard troops in D.C., according to the Associated Press. Lakanwal settled with his wife and children in Bellingham, Washington, where he reportedly struggled to hold a job and failed to assimilate into U.S. culture, according to emails from a community advocate who works with Afghan refugees.
In one email from January 2024, the community advocate wrote that Lakanwal “has not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly.” The community advocate added that Lakanwal would spend weeks in a “darkened room, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife or older kids.” After receiving the emails from the community advocate, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants checked up on Lakanwal, but it appears that Lakanwal was not contacted or refused assistance.
Lakanwal drove across the United States from Bellingham to Washington, D.C., where he allegedly carried out the attack, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
