Overview
- Prosecutors unsealed a 17-count federal superseding indictment Tuesday charging Rahmanullah Lakanwal with first-degree armed premeditated murder, multiple attempted-murder counts, and several firearm and interstate-transport counts.
- The new counts include six death-penalty-eligible allegations and triggered a review by the DOJ’s Capital Case Committee; no final decision to seek execution has been announced.
- Officials say the indictment accuses Lakanwal of driving from Washington state to Washington, D.C., then ambushing two West Virginia National Guard members near the Farragut West Metro station on Nov. 26, 2025.
- Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died from her wounds and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was critically injured and remains in recovery, and two nearby Guardsmen are credited with subduing the suspect at the scene.
- The case will proceed in federal court with a status hearing set for Sept. 16 and could shape prosecutorial, immigration and security discussions because Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome after working with U.S. partners in Afghanistan.