The suspect accused of opening fire on two National Guard members in Washington D.C. reportedly struggled with mental health issues after his involvement in a CIA-supported military group during the Afghanistan conflict.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is currently detained following the shocking shootout that occurred just 800 yards from the White House on Wednesday afternoon. The incident resulted in the death of one soldier from West Virginia and left another critically injured.
Lakanwal came to the United States in 2021 amid the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, having served alongside Special Forces in a CIA-backed unit known as ‘Zero Unit.’ After his initial visa expired, he sought asylum in 2024, which was approved in April 2025 under the Trump administration.
A close friend has now revealed insights into Lakanwal’s mental health struggles, highlighting the trauma and violence he encountered during his time in the military unit.
“Witnessing blood, bodies, and the wounded was unbearable for him,” the friend explained to The New York Times.
“It put a tremendous strain on his mind,” the friend added.
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.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is in custody after the horror shootout just 800 yards from the White House on Wednesday afternoon
The shooting left two young West Virginian soldiers with critical injuries
‘He would tell me and our friends that their military operations were very tough, their job was very difficult, and they were under a lot of pressure,’ the friend said.
Hours after his identity was made public on Wednesday night, CIA Director John Ratcliffe sensationally admitted Lakanwal was known to his agency and had worked with the team.
He told Fox News that his involvement was ‘as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation.’
He echoed comments made hours earlier by Trump that the former administration’s ‘disastrous’ actions during the withdrawal allowed unvetted foreigners to enter the US on temporary visas.
‘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 the CIA,’ Ratcliffe said.
‘The individual – and so many others – should have never been allowed to come here,’ he added.
‘Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.’
But it later emerged the Trump administration was actually the authority who granted Lakanwal permission to stay in the US.
Sarah Beckstrom’s father, Gary Beckstrom, said his daughter will not survive injuries she sustained from being shot while on duty in Washington, DC
Andrew Wolfe was shot alongside Beckstrom in Washington, DC on Wednesday
The Biden administration initially allowed Lakanwal into the US in September 2021 as a refugee under Operation Allies Welcome.
But his visa expired and in 2024 he applied for asylum, which 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 suspect drove across the country from his home in Bellingham, Washington state, where he lived with his wife and five children near the Canadian border.
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were left in critical condition after undergoing surgery. The soldiers were shot by a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver.
On Thursday night, Trump confirmed that Beckstrom had tragically died from her injuries.
Officials said at the Thursday press conference 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
Trump said the American people are filled with ‘righteous anger and enormous resolve’ as he slammed Biden for allowing the suspect to reside in the United States
Late on Wednesday night, CIA Director John Ratcliffe sensationally revealed Rahmanullah Lakanwal had direct links to the CIA from his work alongside US Special Forces in Afghanistan
‘Just seconds before I went on, right now, I heard that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we were talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person… outstanding in every way, she’s just passed away,’ he said.
‘She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down on us right now. Her parents are with her. It’s just happened. She was savagely attacked, she’s dead.’
Trump went on to say Beckstrom was ‘an incredible person. Outstanding in every single way, department.
‘Just horrible,’ he added.
Beckstrom’s devastated father Gary revealed earlier on Thursday that she would not survive her injuries.
‘She has a mortal wound, it’s not going to be a recovery,’ he said from her bedside. ‘I’m holding her hand right now.’
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s notes during a Thursday briefing mentioned the suspected shooter yelled ‘allahu akbar’ before the attack.
