Suspect in shooting of National Guard members faces murder charges as US suspends all asylum decisions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced Friday, as investigators continued to search for a motive.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was hospitalized in critical condition after the Wednesday afternoon shooting near the White House. President Donald Trump announced Thursday night that Beckstrom had died.
via News
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said charges against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan war, now include one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
The Trump administration said Friday it will suspend all asylum decisions and also suspended the issuance of visas for people traveling on Afghan passports.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed to the West Virginia National Guard as part of Trump’s crime-fighting mission that federalized the D.C. police force. The president has also deployed or attempted to send members of the National Guard to other cities to help with his mass deportation efforts, but has faced court challenges.
Asylum decisions are suspended
Trump called the shooting a “terrorist attack” and criticized the Biden administration for allowing Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the Afghanistan war to enter the United States. The president has said he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and expel millions of immigrants from the country.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said in a post on the social platform
USCIS has suspended all asylum decisions until we can ensure that each alien is screened and vetted to the fullest extent possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.
– USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow (@USCISJoe) November 28, 2025
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USCIS has suspended all asylum decisions until we can ensure that each alien is screened and vetted to the fullest extent possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.
– USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow (@USCISJoe) November 28, 2025
Experts say the United States has rigorous vetting systems for asylum seekers. Asylum applications filed from within the country through USCIS have long faced delays. Critics say the slowdown has been exacerbated during the Trump administration.
In an interview on News, Pirro said there are “many charges coming” beyond the enhanced murder charge. He said his heart goes out to the family of Beckstrom, who volunteered to serve and “ended up being shot ambush-style on the cold streets of Washington, DC.”
Pirro said officials have been working around the clock to determine the suspect’s motive. Investigators are executing warrants in Washington state, where Lakanwal lived, and in other parts of the country.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited National Guard troops in the nation’s capital on Friday and led them in a prayer for Beckstrom and Wolfe.
“Some of you may have known her,” Hegseth said of Beckstrom. “Obviously, a beautiful human being and a great American willing to serve his country was brutally attacked.”
Hegseth said he and his wife briefly visited Wolfe Thursday night “to be there and lay hands on him and pray for him.”
Wolfe remains in “very critical condition,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Friday. He ordered state flags to fly at half-staff in recognition of Beckstrom’s death.
“His courage and commitment to duty represent the best of our state,” Morrisey said.
Lakanwal entered the US in 2021
Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former owner, Kristina Widman.
Mohammad Sherzad, a neighbor of Lakanwal, told the AP in a telephone interview Friday that Lakanwal was polite, quiet and spoke very little English.
via News
Sherzad said he attended the same mosque as Lakanwal and that other members had told him that Lakanwal was struggling to find work. Some of their children attended the same school as Lakanwal’s children, Sherzad said.
“He was very quiet and the kids were very polite, very playful. But we didn’t see anything wrong with him. He seemed fine,” Sherzad said. Sherzad said Lakanwal “disappeared” about two weeks ago.
Lakanwal had briefly worked as an independent contractor for Amazon Flex, which allows people to use their own cars to deliver packages, a company spokesperson shared with The News. Lakanwal delivered packages from late July to late August and has not been active since.
Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allied Welcome, a Biden administration program that resettled Afghans after the US withdrawal from the country, the officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.
In a Thanksgiving speech to troops on Thursday, Trump said Lakanwal “went crazy. I mean, he went crazy.”
Lakanwal served in a CIA-backed Afghan army unit, known as one of the special Zero Units, in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a resident of Afghanistan’s eastern province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin. He said Lakanwal was originally from the province and his brother had also worked in the unit.
The cousin spoke to The News on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. He said Lakanwal had started working as a security guard for the unit in 2012 and was later promoted to team leader and GPS specialist.
Zero Units were Afghan-manned but CIA-backed paramilitary units that also served in frontline combat with CIA paramilitary officers. Activists had blamed abuses on the units. They played a key role in the chaotic US withdrawal from the country, providing security around Kabul international airport as the Americans withdrew from the country.
On Wednesday night, Trump called for a new investigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration’s initiative that brought approximately 76,000 people to the country, many of whom had worked as interpreters and translators.
via News
The program has faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over allegations of loopholes in the vetting process, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of retaliation from the Taliban.
Beckstrom “exemplified leadership, dedication and professionalism”
Beckstrom enlisted in 2023, the same year he graduated high school, and served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said in a statement.
“She exemplified leadership, dedication and professionalism,” the statement said, adding that Beckstrom “volunteered to serve as part of Operation DC Safe and Beautiful, helping to ensure the security of our nation’s capital.”
The president called Beckstrom “an incredible person, outstanding in every way.”
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News writers Sarah Brumfield, Siddiqullah Alizai, Elena Becatoros and Randy Herschaft contributed to this report.