Department of Justice to seek death penalty against Rahmanullah Lakanwal for attack on National Guard
The Department of Justice is considering seeking the death penalty for the man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House; one agent died
The Department of Justice announced it will seek the death penalty against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last November, an attack in which one of the victims died.
Lakanwal pleaded guilty He pleaded not guilty to the nine charges he faces, including first-degree murder, during his initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday. During the hearing, Judge Amit Mehta questioned prosecutors about whether they would file additional charges that would allow them to seek the death penalty. Prosecutors indicated they were filing charges that allow for seeking the death penalty.
Attacked two National Guard members near the White House
According to court documents, Lakanwal traveled from Washington state to the U.S. capital in late November and subsequently ambushed two National Guard members, shooting them in the head with a short-barreled revolver.
Another National Guard member returned fire, shooting Lakanwal, who fell to the ground and was arrested at the scene, according to court records.
Agent Sarah Beckstrom died
Sarah Beckstrom, one of the National Guard members who was shot in the back of the head, was pronounced dead the following day. The other injured member, Andrew Wolfe, continues to recover. Lakanwal worked for more than a decade with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan before the U.S. military withdrawal and came to the United States in 2021. According to court records, the defendant received the handgun, which prosecutors said was stolen, from an anonymous person after claiming he needed a weapon for protection while working as an Uber and Lyft driver.
Investigators indicated that Lakanwal had been fired from Uber and had been unemployed for approximately two months prior to the shooting.
Court documents state that he initially requested a gun with a 30-round magazine capacity and that upon receiving the revolver, he asked, “Only five bullets?”
The prosecution also indicated that on the same day he received the gun, he purchased ammunition at a sporting goods store. Two hours later, he searched for “Washington, DC” on Google Maps, and the following day, he searched for the White House address.
Ten days later, the attack on National Guard members occurred two blocks from the White House.