Lakanwal drove across the country to DC for a “targeted” strike, shooting two National Guard members who were patrolling downtown near the Farragut West Metro station the day before Thanksgiving, US officials said.
According to charging documents filed today, a supervisor from the National Guard was talking to Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe when both fell to the ground as gunfire erupted. The supervisor simultaneously saw Lakanwal “shooting a gun and screaming, ‘Allahu Akbar,’” prosecutors said.
A gunfight ensued, and a witness at the scene “jumped on” Lakanwal as the defendant attempted to reload his gun.
Lakanwal, who was shot during the gunfight, was then subdued and arrested, according to the charging documents.
A defence lawyer pleaded not guilty to the charges on Lakanwal’s behalf.
Speaking through an interpreter, Lakanwal gave brief responses during the hearing indicating that he understood his right to counsel and to remain silent, occasionally groaning and lifting the bed blankets to his face.
“I cannot open my eyes,” he said at one point. “I have pain.”
A magistrate judge, Renee Raymond, granted prosecutors’ request to detain Lakanwal pending trial.
The judge described the Government’s case as “exceedingly strong” despite Lakanwal’s apparent lack of criminal history.
“It is fairly clear that he came across the country - 3000 miles [4830km] - armed, with a specific purpose in mind,” Raymond said, describing surveillance footage that appeared to show Lakanwal waiting in broad daylight before opening fire upon seeing the Guard contingent.
Pirro said in brief remarks to reporters after the hearing that authorities “continue to investigate as well as collect evidence so that we can add additional potential charges, potentially federal charges, that we can bring against this defendant”.
Trump Administration officials said after the shooting that they would tighten restrictions on immigration and asylum.
Lakanwal came to the US in 2021 through a Biden administration programme after the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He had worked for an Afghan counterterrorism squad known as a “Zero Unit” that was backed by the CIA and US forces.
The Trump Administration granted him asylum in April.
Lakanwal, his wife and five children resided in northwest Washington state, where hundreds of Afghan refugees were resettled after the US evacuation.
US President Donald Trump said last week that Beckstrom and Wolfe, both from West Virginia, “were shot at point-blank range in a monstrous, ambush-style attack”.
“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said.
Both Guard members had been deployed to DC since August, when Trump ordered troops to the city as part of what his Administration described as a crusade against crime.
Beckstrom, who joined the Guard in 2023 after graduating from high school, died on Thanksgiving in a hospital bed with her parents by her side. She was 20.
Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalised in critical condition.
Days before the shooting, a federal judge had ordered the Trump Administration to withdraw the more than 2000 National Guard members deployed to the capital since August. The Justice Department said in a court filing that it will appeal that ruling, which has not taken effect.
Trump ordered 500 more Guard members deployed to the District after the shooting.
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