Accused of opening fire on two members of the Washington DC National Guard, Rahmanullah Lakanwal had previously led a quiet and inconspicuous life since arriving in the United States in 2021, according to those who lived nearby.

On Wednesday, Lakanwal’s apartment in Bellingham, Washington, was the scene of an FBI raid, as reported by neighbors who spoke to the New York Post.

Lakanwal has been charged with shooting guardsmen Andrew Wolfe, aged 24, and Sarah Beckstrom, aged 20, in a tragic incident near the White House on Wednesday afternoon. Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, while Wolfe remains in critical condition.

According to neighbors, Lakanwal was frequently spotted playing video games such as Call of Duty and FIFA in his minimally furnished apartment, which he shared with his wife and their five children.

Reports indicate that the apartment lacked beds, with the family making do by sleeping on a few couch cushions.

Neighbors described the family as quiet and noted that Lakanwal had limited English proficiency. They also mentioned that his eldest child is 14 years old.

The Bellingham area, where Lakanwal was given housing following the US’s rocky withdrawal from Afghanistan, is very liberal, according to the locals. They said it is ‘Very welcoming. Very diverse. Very open.’

Officials said that Lakanwal drove across the country to commit the vicious attack against Wolfe and Beckstrom, both of whom he is accused of shooting in the head with a .357 revolver. 

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is accused of shooting National Guardsmen Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Sarah Beckstrom, 20. Beckstrom died Thursday and Wolfe is in a critical condition

The apartment complex where Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members, lived in Bellingham, Washington

Andrew Wolfe, 24, was one of the victims in the shooting. He is in critical condition after being shot in the head with a .357 revolver

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died in the hospital Thursday night from her injuries. Trump announced her death Thursday evening

Lakanwal’s neighbor said that the FBI kicked down the accused shooter’s door about 16 hours after the attack. He said he could hear loud banging and agents shouting ‘FBI.’

A motive for the vicious, ambush-style shooting remains unclear. Law enforcement sources told CNN that Lakanwal is not cooperating with police. 

The suspect appeared to target the soldiers, firing first at one of the guardsmen who was mere feet away, according to those law enforcement sources.

He then allegedly fired at the other guardsman who tried to get behind a bus stop shelter.

Immediately after the shooting, a third national guardsman reportedly took Lakanwal down. The accused shooter reportedly also received gunshot wounds during the attack, and he is being treated in the hospital. 

DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that both soldiers had been sworn into the West Virginia National Guard just days before the attack.

Before Beckstrom died, Pirro said the accused shooter would be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

She added that the charges could be upgraded in the coming days, depending on the condition of the two National Guardsmen. If either of them dies, Lakanwal would face murder in the first degree, she said. 

Officials said that Lakanwal drove across the country from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to DC before he fired at the troops on Wednesday afternoon with a .357 revolver

Bellingham, Washington, where Lakanwal was given housing following the US’s rocky withdrawal from Afghanistan, is ‘Very welcoming. Very diverse. Very open,’ according to locals

Attorney General Pam Bondi previously told Fox News that the White House could pursue terrorism charges and the death penalty in the case.

FBI Director Kash Patel has said that his agency is conducting a ‘coast-to-coast’ investigation, which has included raiding two properties in Washington associated with the suspect.

Late on Wednesday night, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News that Lakanwal had direct links to the CIA from his work alongside US Special Forces in Afghanistan.

‘The Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the US government, including CIA,’ Ratcliffe admitted.

He said his involvement with the CIA was ‘as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation.’

‘The individual – and so many others – should have never been allowed to come here,’ Ratcliffe added.

‘Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.’

President Donald Trump has also pinned blame on former President Biden. ‘The suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth,’ Trump said.

The suspect appeared to target the soldiers, firing first at one of the guardsmen who was mere feet away. He then allegedly fired at the other guardsman who tried to get behind a bus stop shelter. 

Lakanwal’s neighbors said he was often seen playing Call of Duty in his sparsely furnished home

‘He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021, on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about. Nobody knew who was coming in.

‘His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden, a disastrous president, the worst in our history.’

However even though the Biden administration initially allowed Lakanwal into the US in September 2021 as a refugee under Operation Allies Welcome, his visa expired and in 2024 he applied for asylum. This was granted by the Trump administration in April 2025.

A White House official told the Daily Mail that Lakanwal would not have been removed from the country because of his parole status.

‘This Afghan national was paroled into the US by the Biden Admin,’ the White House official said. 

‘After that, Joe Biden signed into law that parole program, and entered into the 2023 Ahmed Court Settlement, which bound USCIS to adjudicate his asylum claim on an expedited bases. Regardless of asylum status, this monster would not have been removed due to his parole status, granted by Joe Biden.’

The Trump administration regularly defy court orders and prior Congressional statutes.  

The president ordered an additional 500 troops to be deployed in DC following the shooting, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who called the attack a ‘cowardly, dastardly act, targeting the best of America.’ 

A motive for the vicious, ambush-style shooting remains unclear. Law enforcement sources told CNN that Lakanwal is not cooperating with police. 

One of the stricken soldiers is seen in the back of an ambulance after being shot near the White House

US Citizenship and Immigration Services has indefinitely stopped ‘processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals, effective immediately… pending further review of security and vetting protocols.

‘The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,’ the department said in a statement.

Trump vowed that ‘the animal’ who shot the troops ‘will pay a very steep price.’