Feds investigating how DC National Guard shooting suspect was radicalized in US: ‘Don’t know why he snapped’
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are examining whether the Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House was radicalized after arriving in the United States, despite passing vetting under both the Biden and Trump administrations, a senior official told The Post.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal cleared security reviews when he entered the country following President Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 and again when he secured asylum under President Trump’s administration this past April.
“You can vet what people have done in the past. You can’t vet what people might do in the future,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News’ Hannity in an interview that aired Tuesday night. Authorities are focusing on what occurred during Lakanwal’s four years in the U.S. that may have motivated him to drive 3,000 miles from Bellingham, Washington, to ambush two National Guard members in broad daylight on Thanksgiving Eve.
According to a police report, Lakanwal, 29, shouted “Allahu Akbar!” before shooting the soldiers from West Virginia, who were guarding the nation’s capital. He is charged with murdering Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounding Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24.
In response, President Trump’s administration had previously suspended asylum applications, halted visas for Afghan nationals, and temporarily restricted immigration from at least 19 countries.
Federal officials are signaling that Lakanwal may have undergone a radical shift that pre-entry vetting could not have detected.
“We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “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.”
Lakanwal was shot multiple times by another National Guard member responding to the attack. During a video-linked court appearance from his hospital bed on Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty through an interpreter, explaining he was in too much pain to open his eyes.
Rubio told Sean Hannity that some new immigrants “have no history of radicalization — perhaps they even have worked with you in the past — but they are susceptible to radicalization once they enter the United States.”
During the war in Afghanistan, Lakanwal reportedly worked with the CIA in a paramilitary “Zero Unit,” which human rights groups have described as a “death squad” for its brutality. He entered the U.S. on September 8, 2021, under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program, which resettled Afghans after Kabul fell to the Taliban.
A former senior intelligence official told The Post that Lakanwal “had no criminal history — nothing,” making it nearly impossible to flag him. “We still don’t know why he snapped,” the official added.
Reports indicate that Lakanwal, a father of five, faced financial stress after his work permit expired and may have been experiencing a mental health crisis. The recent death of an Afghan commander he highly respected may have added further strain.
The Daily Beast reported that investigators are also examining whether a Taliban hit squad threatened Lakanwal’s family in Afghanistan unless he attacked U.S. troops. The Post could not independently verify this claim, and the FBI declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
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