Suspect in National Guard attack struggled with 'dark isolation' as
community raised concerns
[December 01, 2025]
By FARNOUSH AMIRI
The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks
from the White House had been unraveling for years, unable to hold a job
and flipping between long, lightless stretches of isolation and taking
sudden weekslong cross-country drives. Rahmanullah Lakanwal's behavior
deteriorated so sharply that a community advocate reached out to a
refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal.
Emails obtained by The Associated Press reveal mounting warnings about
the asylum-seeker whose erratic conduct raised alarms long before the
attack that jolted the nation's capital on Wednesday, the eve of
Thanksgiving. The previously unreported concerns offer the clearest
picture yet of how he was struggling in his new life in the United
States.
Even so, when the community member who works with Afghan families in
Washington state saw on the news that Lakanwal was named as the suspect
in the attack, they said they were stunned, unable to square the
violence with the memory of seeing Lakanwal play with his young sons.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to share undisclosed
details while cooperating with the FBI in its investigation.\
West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed
in the shooting, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically
wounded. Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder.
In Afghanistan, Lakanwal worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as a
Zero Unit. The units were backed by the CIA. He entered the United
States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program that
evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the American
withdrawal. Many had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats.
As investigators work to determine a motive, Homeland Security Secretary
Kristi Noem said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press” that officials
“believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country. We do
believe it was through connections in his home community and state and
we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who
were his family members.” She offered no additional information to
support her statement.
Lakanwal resettled with his wife and their five sons, all under the age
of 12, in Bellingham, Washington, but struggled, according to the
community member, who shared emails that had been sent to the U.S.
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit group that provides
services to refugees.
"Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father and provider
since March of last year, 03/2023. He quit his job that month, and his
behavior has changed greatly,” the person wrote in a January 2024 email.
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The emails described a man who was struggling to assimilate, unable
to hold a steady job or commit to his English courses while he
alternated between “periods of dark isolation and reckless travel."
Sometimes, he spent weeks in his “darkened room, not speaking to
anyone, not even his wife or older kids.” At one point in 2023, the
family faced eviction after months of not paying rent.
The community member, in an interview, spoke of becoming worried
that Lakanwal was so depressed that he would end up harming himself.
But the community member did not see any indication that Lakanwal
would commit violence against another person.
Lakanwal’s family members often resorted to sending his toddler sons
into his room to bring him the phone or messages because he would
not respond to anyone else, one email stated. A couple of times,
when his wife left him with the kids for a week to travel to visit
relatives, the children would not be bathed, their clothes would not
be changed, and they would not eat well. Their school raised
concerns about the situation.
But then, there were “interim” weeks where Lakanwal would try to
make amends and “do the right things,” according to the email,
reengaging with the Washington State Department of Social and Health
Services as was mandated by the terms of his entry into the U.S.
“But that has quickly evolved into ‘manic’ episodes for one or two
weeks at a time, where he will take off in the family car, and drive
nonstop," the email outlined. Once, he went to Chicago, and another
time, to Arizona.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, said
this past week that Lakanwal drove across the country from
Bellingham, which is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of
Seattle, to the nation's capital.
In response to the two emails, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and
Immigrants or USCRI, visited Bellingham a few weeks later in March
2024 and attempted to make contact with Lakanwal and his family,
according to the community member, who, after not receiving any
updates, was left with the impression that Lakanwal refused their
assistance.
A request for comment and clarification from USCRI was not
immediately returned.
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