Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of killing one National Guard member and injuring another in a shooting in Washington, DC, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and assault.
The 29-year-old Afghan national appeared via video link from a hospital bed during his first court hearing on Tuesday, visibly weak and wearing a hospital gown. His attorney entered the plea on his behalf, as Lakanwal was also wounded during the incident.
A Washington judge described the attack as creating “sheer terror” in the capital and ordered Lakanwal held without bond. Authorities say he travelled from Washington state to the nation’s capital before opening fire on two National Guard members deployed by the Trump administration as part of an anti-crime initiative.
The shooting left 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom dead and 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe injured. Prosecutors claim Lakanwal shouted “Allahu akbar!” during the attack, which immediately sparked political fallout, with Republican lawmakers renewing calls for tighter immigration controls.
Lakanwal previously served in a CIA-trained Afghan special unit during the US occupation and was evacuated to the United States following the fall of Kabul in 2021. Reports suggest he had become increasingly withdrawn, struggling emotionally and prompting concern among acquaintances about his mental health.
Shawn VanDiver, president of Afghan Evac, criticised efforts to use the tragedy for political leverage. “Afghans didn’t perpetrate this atrocity,” he said. “One man did, and it sounds like he was struggling mightily with PTSD.”
🚨 WATCH: One victim from the shooting involving National Guard members in Washington, DC, was transported via helicopter. pic.twitter.com/LjK8A91C27
— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) November 26, 2025
Get them all out. Its the great repopulation trying to erase white people.
Trump the ice man
A raid here a raid there
But nothing really happens