An indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court charging Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, with multiple offenses related to a shooting near the White House that resulted in the death of National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom and serious injury to National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe. The incident occurred on November 26 at 17th and I Streets, NW, near the Farragut West Metro Station.
The indictment includes two new counts of assault with intent to kill for two additional victims identified as R.R. and E.S., both National Guard majors who subdued Lakanwal at the scene. Additional charges against Lakanwal are first degree murder while armed (premeditated), assault with intent to kill while armed, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence or dangerous offense.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro stated: “We are vigorously pursuing the prosecution of Lakanwal. Nothing is off the table, and we will continue to weigh additional charges.”
Court documents allege that Lakanwal drove from his home in Washington state to the District of Columbia before opening fire without provocation around 2:13 p.m. on November 26. Investigators recovered a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver at the scene that had been reported stolen in Seattle in 2023.
Beckstrom, age 20, died from her injuries on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. Wolfe, age 24, was critically injured during the attack.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office and Metropolitan Police Department are conducting the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.