The case of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan man accused of a tragic shooting incident involving two National Guard members, highlights significant mental health struggles endured over several years. According to a community advocate, Lakanwal would often isolate himself in a darkened room, distancing himself from his wife and five children.
Lakanwal, aged 29, faces first-degree murder charges following the alleged shooting of soldiers Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Sarah Beckstrom, 20, near the White House. Sadly, Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries on Thanksgiving, while Wolfe remains in critical condition, fighting for his life.
Emerging details about Lakanwal’s mental health reveal a challenging period marked by his inability to maintain employment and a tendency to take extended, solitary cross-country drives as a means of coping. His behavior raised alarm within his community, prompting a community advocate to seek assistance from a refugee organization, fearing he was on the brink of suicide.
“Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father, and provider since March 2023,” the advocate communicated in a January 2024 email to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), an organization dedicated to supporting refugees. The message outlined how Lakanwal’s situation had deteriorated since he quit his job in March of the previous year, significantly altering his behavior and prompting concern from those around him.
His behavior deteriorated so sharply that a community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal.
‘Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly,’ the person wrote in a January 2024 email to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), a nonprofit group that provides services to refugees.
Emails obtained by AP reveal the advocate warned about his erratic conduct long before the tragedy, offering the clearest picture yet of how he was struggling in his new life in the United States.
He was brought to America as part of Operation Allies Welcome in 2021, an initiative to help evacuate and resettle Afghans who assisted US troops during the disastrous withdrawal.
Father-of-five Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, (pictured) has been charged with first degree murder after allegedly opening fire on soldiers Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Sarah Beckstrom, 20, on Wednesday near the White House
-Authorities believe he was radicalized in America prior to allegedly going on a shooting spree in Washington
In Afghanistan, Lakanwal worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as a Zero Unit. The units were backed by the CIA.
Lakanwal resettled with his wife and their five sons, all under the age of 12, in Bellingham, Washington state.
The emails described a man who was struggling to assimilate, unable to hold a steady job or commit to his English courses while he alternated between ‘periods of dark isolation and reckless travel.’
Sometimes, he spent weeks in his ‘darkened room, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife or older kids.’
At one point in 2023, the family faced eviction after months of not paying rent.
Lakanwal’s family members often resorted to sending his toddler sons into his room to bring him the phone or messages because he would not respond to anyone else, one email stated.
When his wife left him with the kids for a week to travel to visit relatives, the children would not be bathed, their clothes would not be changed, and they would not eat well. Their school raised concerns about the situation.
But then, there were ‘interim’ weeks where Lakanwal would try to make amends and ‘do the right things,’ according to the email.
Sarah Beckstrom tragically died from her injuries on Thanksgiving
He allegedly shot two National Guard troops during the tragedy
During this time, he would reengage with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services as was mandated by the terms of his entry into the US.
‘But that has quickly evolved into manic episodes for one or two weeks at a time, where he will take off in the family car, and drive nonstop,’ the email read. Once, he went to Chicago, and another time, to Arizona.
A longtime friend had earlier revealed Lakanwal struggled with the horrors he saw and violence he carried out as part of his duty within the elite Afghan unit.
‘When he saw blood, bodies, and the wounded, he could not tolerate it,’ the childhood friend told The New York Times.
‘It put a lot of pressure on his mind.’
The father-of-five was part of the elite paramilitary outfit which engaged in combat with the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan, often referred to as a ‘death squad.’
While his role within the unit is not clear, his taskforce was often linked to night raids, covert operations and was suspected of carrying out executions.
But when the advocate who worked closely with Lakanwal and other Afghan families in similar circumstances learned he had been named as the suspected shooter, they were stunned.
Officials said 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
The advocate said they were unable to comprehend the violence of the attack with the memory of seeing Lakanwal play with his young sons.
They spoke on the condition of anonymity to share undisclosed details while cooperating with the FBI in its investigation.
In response to the two emails, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), visited Bellingham a few weeks later in March 2024 and attempted to make contact with Lakanwal and his family, according to the community member.
After not receiving any updates, they believed Lakanwal refused further assistance.
As investigators work to determine a motive, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed on Sunday officials ‘believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country.’
She said: ‘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, who were his family members.’
Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney in the District of Columbia, said Lakanwal drove across the country from Bellingham, which is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Seattle, to the nation’s capital.
