WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The man accused of shooting two National Guardsmen in D.C. was handed down federal charges Tuesday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who was living in Washington state, was charged with federal counts of transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year and with transporting a stolen firearm in interstate commerce.
This is in addition to his first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence charges he was handed in D.C.
“The transfer of this case from Superior Court to District Court ensures that we can undertake the serious, deliberate, and weighty analysis required to determine if the death penalty is appropriate here,” U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, said. “Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old when she was killed and her parents are now forced to endure the holiday season without their daughter. Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived but has a long road ahead in his recovery.”
These charges come after he was arrested. Prosecutors say he is responsible for shooting and killing National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injuring Guardsman Andrew Wolfe in an ambush-style shooting on Nov. 26 in D.C. They were with the West Virginia National Guard and had been deployed to D.C.
The shooting took place in the afternoon near the Farragut West Metro Station. Court documents say that Lakanwal had traveled from Washington with a stolen gun and then shot the National Guardsmen in the head.
The gun that investigators recovered afterward had been reported stolen from Washington two years ago.
Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries on Thanksgiving, Nov. 27.