By Jack Phillips
Charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members this week will be upgraded to first-degree murder after one died, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Nov. 28.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were both shot on Nov. 26. Beckstrom died a day later, Trump confirmed during a call with service members on Thanksgiving. Wolfe remains in critical condition.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who had worked with the CIA during the war in Afghanistan, faces a charge of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, Pirro said.
“There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” program.
Officials in the Trump administration, including the president and FBI Director Kash Patel, have described the shooting as a terrorist attack. Attorney General Pam Bondi said this week that federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case.
Both Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed to the nation’s capital with the West Virginia National Guard as part of the Trump administration’s mission there, starting earlier this year.
Wolfe is still in “very critical condition,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a Nov. 28 statement. He confirmed that he ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in recognition of Beckstrom’s passing.
“These two West Virginia heroes were serving our country and protecting our nation’s capital when they were maliciously attacked,” Morrisey’s statement added. “Their courage and commitment to duty represent the very best of our state.”
The governor added that he is holding the Guard troops’ friends and families in their prayers.
Trump said at an address on Nov. 27 that he believes Lakanwal “went cuckoo” or “nuts” before he shot at the soldiers. The president also said that Beckstrom was an “incredible person, outstanding in every single way.”
The president said that he would freeze migration from “third-world countries“ after Beckstrom’s death was confirmed.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions … and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
The Biden administration initiative for Afghans who worked with U.S. forces brought roughly 76,000 people to the country, many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators during the 20-year-long war in the country. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over allegations of gaps in the vetting process.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security said on Nov. 26 that Lakanwal was allowed into the United States under a Biden administration program, Operation Allies Welcome, and confirmed that he had been living in Bellingham, Washington state, a city located between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
“This program let in thousands of unvetted Afghan nationals including terrorists into our country,” Homeland Security said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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