D.C. Shooting Suspect Worked With the CIA in Afghanistan And His Path Into the U.S. Raises Hard Questions About Vetting, Trauma, and a System Under Strain
The man accused of ambushing two National Guard troops just blocks from the White House has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States four years ago under a Biden-era humanitarian parole program. Federal officials now confirm that Lakanwal previously worked with U.S. forces, including the CIA, as part of an elite partner unit operating in Kandahar before the fall of Afghanistan in 2021. His trajectory from trusted wartime ally to attempted killer on the streets of the U.S. capital underscores a volatile mix of trauma, bureaucracy, and broken systems the government is still struggling to understand.
“This was a lone gunman who ambushed National Guard members,” said Jeff Carroll, executive assistant chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
The attack left two young service members, Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24 in critical condition. The gunman was shot, subdued, and remains hospitalized.
A Former CIA-Partnered Fighter Now Accused of a D.C. Ambush
The CIA has confirmed that Rahmanullah Lakanwal spent years working alongside U.S. intelligence and military forces in Afghanistan, serving as part of a “partner force” embedded with CIA paramilitary teams and American Special Operations units. Former Afghan commandos say he led a Special Forces unit in southern Afghanistan, coordinating directly with U.S. and British troops on missions ranging from intelligence gathering to targeted raids against Taliban and ISIS fighters.
His service placed him inside the tight network of Afghan operators the CIA relied on for some of its most sensitive operations. According to one longtime colleague, Lakanwal was a capable field leader but became “deeply troubled” after the 2024 death of a close friend and fellow Afghan commander, a man who died after failing to secure asylum in the United States. That loss reportedly weighed heavily on him. Many Afghan partner-force veterans have described similar struggles severe PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and instability after relocation, problems the U.S. government has never created a comprehensive system to track or treat.
Entered the U.S. in 2021 Under Operation Allies Welcome
Multiple federal officials confirm Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 8, 2021, under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden administration’s emergency pipeline for Afghans fleeing Kabul after the Taliban takeover. He later applied for asylum in 2024 and was approved in 2025 by the Trump Administration, giving him legal residency protections, though his green card application remained pending.
More than 80,000 Afghans arrived under similar circumstances, some with visas, many with only temporary parole and no long-term support structure.
President Trump quickly politicized the attack, calling Afghanistan “a hellhole on Earth” and labeling Lakanwal “a foreigner who entered our country under Biden’s program.” DHS later clarified that Lakanwal’s entry aligned with standard humanitarian parole procedures used for thousands of evacuees.
The Ambush: An Attack With Almost No Warning
The attack unfolded in seconds. Authorities say Lakanwal approached a three-person Guard patrol near a Metro station in downtown D.C., raised a firearm with four rounds loaded, and shot the first soldier, a 20-year-old woman, almost immediately. She collapsed in place. He then allegedly seized her weapon and continued firing, hitting a second Guardsman. A third member returned fire, ending the ambush. Officials say Lakanwal has refused to cooperate with federal investigators.
Cross-Country Drive and a Home Search Filled With Questions
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the suspect drove from Washington state to D.C. with the intent to reach the capital. Lakanwal lived with his wife and five children in Bellingham. Federal agents executed a search warrant at that residence, seizing laptops, phones, tablets, and other electronic devices. Investigators located additional associates in San Diego and are now analyzing seized digital materials.
“We will go anywhere in the country or the world where the evidence leads us,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Amit Patel.
Charges and National Implications
Lakanwal will face:
• Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed
• One count of possessing a firearm during a crime of violence
Those charges may expand if the victims’ conditions worsen. The attack carries explosive national implications because of the suspect’s background. The U.S. relied heavily on Afghan special operators during the war. Many later fled to America with little support, screening gaps, and unresolved trauma. Lakanwal’s case sits at the center of every question critics have raised about the evacuation:
Were vetting systems overwhelmed or inadequate?
Did the U.S. fail to provide mental-health support to traumatized wartime partners?
Did political leaders weaponize the event instead of learning from it?
And most urgently: could this have been prevented?
A War’s Aftershock on American Streets
Lakanwal wasn’t an unknown migrant. He wasn’t an infiltrator. He was a former ally who fought, and bled, alongside U.S. forces before being evacuated. His path into the U.S. was built by American promises made to Afghan fighters who risked their lives for decades. Now, an ambush just blocks from the White House has turned that legacy into an open wound. The victims are American. The suspect is one of America’s own wartime partners. And the country is left with more questions than answers.
