The man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington DC last week spent weeks alone in a dark room and suffered “manic episodes” – according to comments written in 2024 by a caseworker who helped the suspect’s family relocate after fleeing Afghanistan.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal is accused of carrying out an “ambush” that killed 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injured 24-year-old Andrew Wolf.
Officials said the 29-year-old entered the United States in 2021 as part of a program for Afghans who had worked with American troops in Afghanistan.
According to emails from last year obtained by the BBC’s US partner CBS News, Mr Lakanwal struggled with his mental health.
In an interview on Sunday with NBC, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that Mr. Lakanwal was “radicalized since he has been here in this country” and that officials believe that this happened “through connections in the community and his home state”.
Mr. Lakanwal, an Afghan national, entered the United States as part of the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program.
This was during the period that followed the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. As soon as the Taliban took back control of the country, there was fear of retribution against individuals, such as Mr. Lakanwal, who had cooperated with the United States.
He applied for asylum in 2024, and his application was granted earlier this year, an official told CBS.
He lived with his wife and five children in Bellingham, Washington – a state on the other side of the country from where last week’s attack took place.
A motive is still unknown, but a picture of Mr. Lakanwal’s life in the United States began to emerge through the emails that were sent last year to the non-profit group US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal [Reuters]
The case worker who was helping family access services in the United States sent an email on January 11, 2024, expressing concern that Mr. Lakanwal had been unemployed for a year and his family faced eviction.
“World Relief volunteers are trying to work things out for that family – but I think the father has mental health issues that are not being addressed, and he won’t talk to anyone,” reads a portion of the email obtained by CBS. World Relief is a group that has helped with the relocation of Afghan citizens.
In a separate email sent on 31 January 2024, the case worker said that Mr Lakanwal “spends most of his time for weeks on end in his dark bedroom, not talking to anyone, not even his wife and older children”.
The case worker, who was not a mental health professional, also said that Mr Lakanwal had “manic episodes for one or two weeks at a time where he would leave in the family car”. They also said that he had periods in which he would try to “make amends”.
Last week, a childhood friend told the New York Times that Mr Lakanwal had experienced mental health problems following his stint with his unit in Afghanistan.
Mr Lakanwal was a member of “Zero Unit” – an Afghan intelligence and paramilitary force that worked with the CIA – a former member of the Afghan defense and security forces told CBS.
CIA director John Ratcliffe also confirmed that Mr Lakanwal worked together with the US intelligence agency.
In the days following the attack in Washington DC, President Donald Trump promised to ‘permanently halt migration’ from ‘all third world countries’.
The president’s administration has halted all asylum decisions “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the highest degree possible,” USCIS director Joseph Edlow said.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters that he expected the situation to last “for a long time”.
Mr. Lakanwal, who was shot during the incident and is still hospitalized, is facing murder charges, said American Attorney Jeanine Pirro.