Emails from a case worker obtained by CBS News describe Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, as having serious mental-health struggles and isolating himself in a dark room after resettling in the United States. Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The messages, dated January 2024, said Lakanwal had not worked in about a year, that his family in Bellingham, Washington, had been given an eviction notice, and that he ‘would not talk to anyone,’ according to a Jan. 11 note sent to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. A Jan. 31 email said he ‘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 reported episodes they described as ‘manic’ lasting one or two weeks where Lakanwal would drive off in the family car, followed by periods when he appeared to try to make amends. The worker wrote they believed he was suffering from PTSD tied to his work with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
A former Afghan commando who spoke with CBS News said Lakanwal had led a unit of Afghan special forces in southern Afghanistan and worked closely with international troops before the withdrawal. That source said Lakanwal was deeply affected by the 2024 death of a close friend and fellow 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.
Officials say 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.
Prosecutors say Lakanwal drove from Bellingham to Washington, D.C., before the attack. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds; 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, which has complicated investigators’ efforts to interview him.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said authorities believe Lakanwal was radicalized since arriving in the U.S., a conclusion she attributed to contacts in his community but did not detail. Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, said the attack ‘does not reflect the Afghan community’ and noted that evacuees undergo 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 shown links to foreign handlers or extremist groups.