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By Jasmine Laws
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Emails obtained by The Associated Press reveal the National Guard shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal's behavior had been raising alarm prior to the attack on Wednesday.
According to the news agency, the 29-year-old had been unable to hold down a job, spent long stretches of time in isolation and took cross-country drives that lasted weeks.
Why It Matters
West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the shooting, and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded.
Read More on News
The incident has shone a spotlight on ongoing security concerns in the country's capital, after President Donald Trump ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to bolster law enforcement in D.C. in the summer.
The shooting has also prompted Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to say that another 500 National Guard members would be deployed to D.C.
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What To Know
Lakanwal's behavior concerned one community advocate to the point that they reportedly contacted a refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal.
The anonymous community member, who works with Afghan families in Washington state, said that they were shocked when they saw Lakanwal had been named as the suspect in the attack as they recalled seeing him play with his young sons.
In the person's two emails that were sent to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit group that provides services to refugees, the community member said: "Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly."
The email, sent in January 2024, also alleged that Lakanwal was struggling to settle in the state, and was unable to hold down a steady job or go to his English courses.
He also experienced bouts of "dark isolation," which involved spending weeks in a "darkened room, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife or older kids," the emails read.
Sometimes, the family would send the youngest children into his room to bring him the phone or messages because he refused to respond to anyone.
The community member said in an interview they were becoming worried that Lakanwal was so depressed that he might try to harm himself, but did not think it likely he would try to physically harm another person.
According to the emails, he also reportedly did not ensure that his children had bathed, changed their clothes or eaten properly on a number of occasions when his wife traveled to visit relatives for a week, which prompted concern from the children's school.
It was also disclosed in the emails that the family faced eviction after not paying their rent for months in 2023.
The community member also reported in the emails that Lakanwal would have periods of time between bouts of isolation when he would try to "do the right things" and make amends.
However, this "quickly evolved into ‘manic’ episodes for one or two weeks at a time, where he will take off in the family car, and drive nonstop," the email continued. This "reckless travel" reportedly took him as far as Chicago and Arizona.
Lakanwal had also driven from Bellingham, Washington, where he lives, to the District of Columbia over this past week, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in D.C., said.
After receiving these emails, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants visited his Bellingham home a few weeks later in March 2024 in an attempt to make contact with Lakanwal and his family, the community member said, although it is not clear if the group was able to make contact with the family.
Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program that evacuated and resettled Afghans after the American withdrawal, after having worked in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit known as a Zero Unit.
It has been reported by the BBC that he helped to guard U.S. forces at Kabul airport when thousands were trying to leave Afghanistan during the conflict, and was described by his former commander as a "sporty and jolly character."
He came to Bellingham with his wife and five sons—all of whom are under the age of 12.
What Happens Next
Lakanwal has been charged with first-degree murder, although investigators yet to establish a motive for the attack. Officials have said there is an "investigation of terrorism."
The article contains reporting from The Associated Press.
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