Rahmanullah Lakkanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, drove 42 hours from coast to coast of the United States with the intention of committing an attack. He covered nearly 4,500 kilometers between Bellingham, the city where he lived with his wife and five children, north of Seattle, and Washington, with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver with six bullets in the camera. Lacanwal is the man arrested by police after shooting and seriously damaging members of the West Virginia National Guard in the afternoon next to the busy Farragut West Metro station, near Casa Blanca. Lakanwal was charged with possession of a firearm and charged with three counts of assault with intent to murder while armed.
Authorities believe Lakanwal, who acted alone, traveled with a plan to launch the attack in his head. It was the eve of the Acción de Gracias, the most popular festival in the country. In the bullying capital, thousands of Americans were preparing to make their final purchases. It was 14.15 when the suspicious man crossed the corner of 17th Street and Calle I, an area frequented by tourists and federal employees, due to its proximity to Casa Blanca. A group of the National Guard was found, as part of the deployment of forces ordered by Donald Trump to combat what he considers a “criminal emergency” in the capital. When Lakhanwal saw the soldiers, he opened fire: a soldier was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground. The assailant leaned back to use the trigger on the fallen soldier. He later became the successor of another member of the army, before he was arrested after an exchange of fire with other guards in which he inherited.
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, are among the National Guard volunteers whose legacy resulted in the shooting. Although he was in critical condition in the hospital, and even overcame surgical interventions, his condition is still serious, according to the report heard by the Inspector General of the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, in a press conference with the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel.
Pirro, who did not provide details about the reasons for the dramatic attack against members of the National Guard, described that “two uniformed guards were ambushed in a brazen and targeted attack, where a gunman opened fire without provocation, in the style of an ambush.” “It’s very ready,” he assured the inspector before reporters’ questions. He added: “We are investigating in different areas, but we are not ready to confirm this.” Pirro wrote that the shooting was considered a “selective attack.” Patel described the case as an “ongoing terrorism investigation,” without considering his explanations.
Lakanwal was cooperating with the CIA during the conflict against the Taliban, according to the authorities’ report. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that the detainee was working with an allied military unit in Kandahar, during the US war in Afghanistan. Ratcliffe did not provide details about what Lakanwal committed during that period.
The sources you quoted New York Times They explained that the detainee served in Kandahar in the Siro units, affiliated with Afghan intelligence companies. These were paramilitary forces trained to carry out night raids against suspected Taliban targets. They were known as shields of death for their cruel and vile methods, and were accused of widespread killings of civilians by human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch.
The American newspaper reported that the detainee’s childhood friend revealed that he was suffering from mental health problems and that he had suffered psychological trauma due to the operations in which he participated in Afghanistan. He insists he was unstable and smoked marijuana frequently.
Lakhanwal arrived in the United States in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Kabul. Joe Biden’s government was starting a project to prevent the Taliban from handing over power to Afghans who cooperated with the army. The shelter program known as Operation Welcoming Allies, It allowed the return of about 76,000 Afghans to the United States on humanitarian grounds, according to the report New York Times. Nearly a thousand refugees were transferred to Whatcom County, in the northwest of the country, near Bellingham. It is headquartered at World Relief, a humanitarian organization that helps refugees during their first 90 days in the United States.
Terrorist situations
Inspector General Pam Bondi confirmed to these young men in an interview on Fox News that the Justice Department intends to charge Lakanwal with terrorism offenses, for which he could face life in prison. The Malian general explained that the situation would depend on whether any of the victims died as a result of being hit by bullets. He added: “We will have everything possible to demand the death penalty.”
FBI Director Kash Patel explained that the agency has interviewed several witnesses and is investigating several locations in the capital and several places on the West Coast. “During the recordings, we were not aware that there were many electronic devices, including mobile phones, laptops, iPads and other materials being analyzed at the moment,” he commented.
Trump made an unusual appearance last night to speak publicly about the attack. From his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, he accused his predecessor Biden of tragedy with xenophobic rhetoric, criminalizing immigrants and grossly exaggerating the number of refugees who entered during the Democrat’s presidency. “Now we must go back to screening all of the foreigners who enter our country from Afghanistan,” he said.
The president wrote on his social network “Truth” before the news of the success was broadcast: “The animal that shot two National Guardsmen, both of whom were seriously injured and are now in separate hospitals, was also seriously injured, but despite everything, it will pay a very heavy price.” “May God bless our National Guard and all our armed forces and order. They are truly extraordinary people.”
In response to the shooting, the US President ordered the army to send another division of 500 members of the National Guard to Washington. About 2,300 employees have been deployed in the capital since last summer under an executive order dictated by Trump, based on the justification of combating high crime rates in the capital, even though crime rates in the city are the lowest in 30 years. National Guard members are also involved in campaigns against migrants.
The presence of the National Guard in some cities governed by Democrats has become a national political issue. Dissent is seen as an exercise in intimidation and abuse of power, because in theory soldiers do not have jurisdiction in cities. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed her rejection of uniformed segregation. “These young men should be at home, in the state of West Virginia, with their families,” he declared.
Last week, Jia Cobb, a federal judge in Washington, decided that the Trump administration could not maintain the National Guard deployment in Washington, after the local government appealed the president’s order in the courts. Cobb postponed it for three weeks to give Casa Blanca time to withdraw the troops and appeal the decision. After the tragic success of this century, the CEO asked Cobb that his decision should not be put into effect.