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A suspect in the Wednesday shooting will be charged with first-degree murder, according to federal officials
Josh Marcusin San FranciscoTuesday 02 December 2025 02:12 GMTComments
ClosePirro: National Guard shooting suspect will be charged with first-degree murder
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Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, one of the two National Guard troops shot in an attack last week in Washington, D.C. near the White House, is slowly recovering, according to officials.
“Andrew remains in serious condition,” West Virginia Gov. Craig Caplan said at a press conference on Monday. “We did have some positive news that we were told that Andrew was asked if he could hear. The nurse who asked the question [asked him] to give a thumbs up and he did respond. And we were told that he also wiggled his toes."
Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, the other West Virginia Guard member shot in the attack, died from her injuries last week.
About 170 West Virginia Guard members remain deployed in the capital, officials said.
The Guard is reeling from the attack, where Afghan national and former U.S. intelligence collaborator Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is accused of rounding a corner and opening fire on the troops not far from the White House.
open image in galleryA makeshift memorial in Washington, DC honors Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, the two West Virginia National Guard troops shot blocks from the White House. Beckstrom was killed and Wolfe remains in a serious condition (Getty Images)Officials later shot and subdued Lakanwal, who was arrested and hospitalized.
The 29-year-old now faces federal murder charges.
Prior to his alleged role in the attack, Lakanwal worked with the CIA in Afghanistan as part of a paramilitary “Zero Unit” and served in the Afghan Army for about 10 years alongside U.S. Special Forces.
open image in galleryAir Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, who was shot and seriously wounded last week during an attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., acknowledged to doctors he can hear and wiggled his toes, officials said (REUTERS)Lakanwal was brought to the U.S. as part of 2021’s Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program aimed at resettling Afghans who had assisted the United States in its fight against the Taliban, which has taken in approximately 76,000 people.
The Trump administration granted Lakanwal’s asylum application in April.
open image in galleryThe Trump administration paused asylum decisions and ordered additional National Guard troops to Washington, after an Afghan who received asylum in the U.S. allegedly fired on troops (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Lakanwal and his family had been living in a furnished apartment in Bellingham, Washington state, prior to the shooting.
The former soldier had been reportedly been struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the shooting.
After the shooting, the Trump administration paused all asylum decisions, and the president has vowed to “permanently pause” migration from “all third world countries,” though he lacks the power to unilaterally make immigration law.
The Trump administration has ordered 500 additional National Guard troops to bolster the administration’s ongoing military operation in the capital.
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