Lakanwal Newly Indicted in Shooting of Guardsmen Near White House that Killed Sarah Beckstrom

WASHINGTON – An Indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court charging Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, with an array of offenses in the ambush-style shooting near the White House on November 26 that killed National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injured National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. The Indictment adds two new counts of assault with intent to kill for additional victims, R.R. and E.S., two National Guard majors who subdued Lakanwal at the scene. In addition, the Indictment charges Lakanwal with first degree murder while armed (premeditated), assault with intent to kill while armed, transportation of a firearm & ammunition in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony; and four counts of possession of a firearm during crime of violence or dangerous offense. “We are vigorously pursuing the prosecution of Lakanwal,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Nothing is off the table, and we will continue to weigh additional charges.” According to court documents, Lakanwal allegedly drove his Toyota Prius from his home in Washington state to the District of Columbia. On the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 26, at about 2:13 p.m., Lakanwal opened fire without provocation at 17th and I Streets, NW, near the Farragut West Metro Station, shooting Beckstrom and Wolfe in the head. Two nearby majors in the National Guard responded immediately and subdued the suspect. At the scene, investigators recovered a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver that had been reported stolen in Seattle, Washington, in 2023. Ms. Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries on Thanksgiving, November 27. National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically injured in the ambush. This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.