Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national living in Bellingham, Washington, has been charged in U.S. District Court with federal offenses related to the fatal shooting of National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom and the serious injury of National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“The transfer of this case from Superior Court to District Court ensures that we can undertake the serious, deliberate, and weighty analysis required to determine if the death penalty is appropriate here,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old when she was killed and her parents are now forced to endure the holiday season without their daughter. Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived but has a long road ahead in his recovery.”
Lakanwal faces federal charges for transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit an offense punishable by more than one year in prison and for transporting a stolen firearm interstate. He also remains charged under D.C. law with first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Court documents indicate that Lakanwal allegedly drove from Bellingham, Washington, to Washington, D.C., carrying a stolen firearm. On November 26 at approximately 2:13 p.m., he reportedly opened fire at 17th and I Streets NW near Farragut West Metro Station without provocation, shooting both Beckstrom and Wolfe in the head. Two National Guard Majors who were nearby subdued him at the scene.
Investigators recovered a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver reported stolen in Seattle in 2023 at the location of the incident.
Beckstrom died from her injuries on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. Wolfe remains critically injured following the attack.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
