The suspect accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., had been struggling with his mental health and often isolating himself in a dark room after resettling in the U.S., according to emails from a case worker obtained by CBS News.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the U.S. in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The emails, dated January 2024, describe a man who had not worked in a year, whose family in Bellingham, Washington, had been served an eviction notice, and who “won’t talk to anyone,” according to a Jan. 11 message to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
A Jan. 31, 2024 email said Lakanwal “had not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023,” and that he “spends most of his time for weeks on end in his darkened bedroom, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife and older kids.” The case worker — not a mental health professional — also described “manic episodes for one or two weeks at a time where he will take off in the family car,” and interim periods when he “tries to make amends.” The worker said they believed Lakanwal was suffering “PTSD from his work with the US military in Afghanistan.”
A former Afghan commando who spoke with CBS News said Lakanwal led a unit of Afghan special forces in southern Afghanistan and worked closely with international troops before the withdrawal. The former commando said Lakanwal was left deeply troubled by the 2024 death of a close friend and fellow Afghan commander who had unsuccessfully sought asylum in the U.S.
World Relief, one of the resettlement agencies that assisted Afghan evacuees, helped Lakanwal, his wife and their five sons when they arrived. Washington state resettled nearly 3,000 Afghan nationals, including the family.
Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and, after vetting that included background checks, social media reviews and in-person interviews, was granted asylum in April 2025, officials said.
Prosecutors say Lakanwal drove from Bellingham to Washington, D.C., before the attack. One of the victims, Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died; the other, Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized. Lakanwal was shot by another National Guard member during the incident and is also hospitalized; U.S. officials said he has been sedated and placed on a ventilator, complicating investigators’ efforts to interview him.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said authorities believe Lakanwal was “radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” a claim she attributed to contacts in his community, though she provided no further details. AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver said the attack “does not reflect the Afghan community,” which he noted undergoes extensive vetting.
U.S. intelligence analysts are reviewing Lakanwal’s communications and online activity for signs of international coordination or ideological radicalization. Multiple U.S. officials said an early review of his social media and messaging channels has not revealed links to foreign handlers or extremist groups.
