Rahmanullah Lakanwal had been showing warning signs for years.
According to an AP News report, Lakanwal, who is accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., over the holiday, couldn’t keep a job, spent long stretches shut off from his own family, and took sudden cross-country trips without explanation.
His behavior alarmed people around him. One community advocate even contacted a refugee organization out of concern that his instability was escalating.
Those concerns now look stark.
When the same advocate saw Lakanwal identified as the suspect in the attack near the White House, they were stunned — but not surprised by the pattern of deterioration. The consequences are devastating. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded. And Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder.
Lakanwal had arrived in the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, after serving in a CIA-backed Zero Unit in Afghanistan. But his conduct in the U.S. repeatedly raised red flags — instability, isolation, and erratic behavior that went unaddressed.
Investigators are now searching for a motive.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Meet the Press that officials “believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country.” She said it stemmed from people in his own community. And she pointed to failures in the Biden administration’s vetting of him.
“The Biden Administration created one of the worst national security crises in American history with the abandonment of Afghanistan. Biden let into our country nearly 100,000 unvetted Afghan aliens, figuring out who they were and their intentions when they were already on American soil,” Noem said on X.
The Biden Administration created one of the worst national security crisis in American history with the abandonment of Afghanistan. Biden let into our country nearly 100,000 unvetted Afghan aliens — figuring out who they were and their intentions when they were already on… pic.twitter.com/DhWUs2E28g
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) November 30, 2025
The questions now are not about his struggles, but about how the warnings were missed, and how he was able to carry out a deadly attack in the heart of the nation’s capital.
