National Guard shooting suspect ‘radicalised in US’
U.S. officials believe an Afghan immigrant accused of ambushing National Guard members in Washington, D.C., was not radicalized until he arrived in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
Speaking to US broadcasters NBC and ABC, Noem said authorities thought the alleged attacker, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was already living in Washington state when he was radicalized.
Noem said investigators are seeking more information from family members and others.
Authorities have identified Lakanwal, 29, as the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting a few blocks from the White House that left one National Guard member dead and another seriously injured.
West Virginia National Guard Specialist 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom was killed in the conflict, and 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe was seriously injured.
Lakanwal, 29, was charged with first-degree murder.
Following the conflict, US President Donald Trump’s administration pointed out that although Lakanwal was granted asylum under the Trump administration, there were no investigations into Afghans and other foreigners during former president Joe Biden’s term in office.
Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 as part of the previous administration’s mass displacement of Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the two-decade war in Afghanistan when the Taliban came to power.
A government dossier reviewed by Reuters showed he was granted asylum by the current administration in April.
Noem’s comments suggest that Lakanwal, who was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan, may have embraced extremism after arriving in the United States.
“We believe he has been radicalized since he has been in this country,” Noem told NBC News.
“We believe it was through connections within his community and his state, and we will continue to talk to people who interacted with him, who were his family members.”
Noem said U.S. authorities had so far received “some involvement” from people who knew Lakanwal and warned that U.S. authorities would pursue anyone connected to the attack.
“Anyone with information about this needs to know that we will hunt you down and bring you to justice,” Noem said.
Following Wednesday’s attack, the Trump administration took steps to restrict some legal immigration, including freezing the processing of all asylum applications.
Noem said Sunday that immigration officials will consider deporting people with active asylum cases if deemed necessary.
“We will examine each person waiting for asylum one by one,” he said.
with AP
