Suspect in Washington, DC, shooting charged with murder after soldier dies

Washington, DC – A antheral who allegedly attacked 2 National Guard members successful the United States superior has been charged with execution aft 1 of his victims died from her wounds.

The updated charges were announced connected Friday by Jeanine Pirro, the US lawyer for Washington, DC.

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They came 2 days aft Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, changeable West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, conscionable blocks from the White House.

Late Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that Beckstrom, who had been deployed to the superior arsenic portion of what the president has framed arsenic an anti-crime drive, had died of her wounds.

Pirro made the announcement connected the Fox and Friends TV programme, a time aft she said that Washington authorities nonmigratory Lakanwal would look 3 counts of battle with intent to termination portion equipped and 3 counts of possession of a firearm during a transgression of violence.

Lakanwal “will present beryllium charged with execution successful the archetypal degree”, she said connected Friday.

“There are surely galore much charges to come, but we are upgrading the archetypal charges from battle to execution successful the archetypal degree.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi had antecedently said she would question the decease punishment if either of the soldiers died from the attack. The FBI has said it is investigating the onslaught arsenic “terrorism”.

On Friday, National Guard subordinate Wolfe remained successful captious condition.

‘Collective punishment’

The upgraded charges travel soon aft the Trump medication promised a widespread crackdown connected migration successful the aftermath of the attack, arsenic good arsenic a revetting of immigrants already successful the US.

Advocacy groups person decried the actions arsenic “collective punishment”.

In a societal media post connected Thursday night, Trump said helium would “permanently intermission migration from each Third World Countries”, expanding a erstwhile determination to halt each migration requests relating to Afghan nationals.

Trump further pledged to “remove anyone who is not a nett plus to the United States, oregon is incapable of loving our Country”.

The medication had already said it would re-vet refugees and asylum seekers admitted into the US nether erstwhile President Joe Biden, with the manager of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) saying connected Thursday that it would behaviour a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination of each Green Card for each alien from each state of concern”.

The argumentation changes travel arsenic much details astir the alleged attacker, Lakanwal, person emerged.

Trump medication officials person repeatedly blamed the shooting connected lax vetting policies during Biden’s Operation Afghans Welcome, successful which tens of thousands of Afghans were relocated to the US pursuing the withdrawal of Western forces from the country.

US media has reported that Lakanwal was a subordinate of an Afghan unit that worked alongside the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) successful Afghanistan, dubbed the “zero unit”.

A person told The New York Times that Lakanwal had suffered intelligence wellness issues related to the unit’s conduct, which Human Rights Watch has said included extrajudicial and civilian killings, among different abuses.

A authorities study viewed by the Reuters quality bureau showed that Lakanawal had applied for asylum successful December 2024.

However, the lawsuit was approved successful April, months aft Trump took bureau for a 2nd term, with officials noting his enactment alongside the US successful Afghanistan. They recovered nary disqualifying accusation astatine the time.

Advocates person said the Trump medication is utilizing the onslaught to further supercharge a crackdown connected immigration.

That crackdown, critics say, has targeted ineligible immigrants and susceptible populations, including refugees who person sought sanctuary from persecution.

Responding to the prohibition connected Afghan migration processing connected Thursday, the San Francisco Bay Area section of the Council connected American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said “collective punishment is ne'er justified”.

“People fleeing violence, persecution, and instability merit extortion and owed process — not to beryllium vilified for the alleged acts of 1 person,” the radical said.

The Afghan-American Foundation called connected elected leaders and media to respond responsibly.

“Follow the facts, defy fear, and guarantee that this calamity is not utilized to disagreement communities oregon interruption isolated the ties that hindrance us,” it said successful a statement.