Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national residing in Bellingham, Washington, has been charged in U.S. District Court with federal offenses related to the November 26 shooting that resulted in the death of National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom and serious injury to National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“The transfer of this case from Superior Court to District Court ensures that we can undertake the serious, deliberate, and weighty analysis required to determine if the death penalty is appropriate here,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old when she was killed and her parents are now forced to endure the holiday season without their daughter. Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived but has a long road ahead in his recovery.”
The charges filed against Lakanwal include transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit an offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment and transporting a stolen firearm across state lines. He also faces local charges under D.C. law for first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Court documents indicate that Lakanwal allegedly drove from Bellingham, Washington, to Washington D.C., carrying a stolen firearm. On November 26 at approximately 2:13 p.m., he reportedly opened fire near Farragut West Metro Station at 17th and I Streets NW without provocation, shooting both Beckstrom and Wolfe in the head. Two nearby National Guard Majors subdued him at the scene.
Investigators recovered a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver at the location of the incident; it had been reported stolen in Seattle in 2023.
Beckstrom died from her injuries on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. Wolfe remains critically injured following the ambush.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office and Metropolitan Police Department are leading the investigation. The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
