The terror suspect accused of shooting two National Guard troops just blocks from the White House was taken down with a simple pocket knife by a heroic guardsman who rushed to the scene, according to reports.
Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan evacuee, allegedly drove across the country from his US home in Bellingham, Washington — a nearly 3,000-mile, 40-hour haul — to arrive in D.C. by Wednesday afternoon, officials confirmed after the attack.
It remains unclear when Lakanwal left home — where he reportedly has a wife and five children — and when he arrived in the nation’s capital.
However, he was laying in wait on a corner the Farragut West Metro entrance, just two blocks from the White House by about 2 p.m. — where two armed National Guard troops were standing patrol.
The attack happened at 17th and I streets NW — next to Farragut Square Park.
Lakanwal then allegedly pulled out a .357 Magnum-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, trained its sights on the Guardsmen, and started firing, according to authorities.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom — a 20-year-old with the West Virginia National Guard who had volunteered for the day’s service so others could be home for Thanksgiving — was quickly struck in the head and chest.
Her father told the New York Times that she is not expected to survive her wounds.
But Lakanwal reportedly only had four bullets in his gun, and allegedly picked up Beckstrom’s weapon and continued shooting at 24-year-old Guard Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, CBS News reported.
Wolfe is still in critical condition.
Nearby, a National Guard major was doing rounds to check in with troops posted nearby and heard the gunfire down the block.
Despite not having a weapon himself, he looked towards the chaos and saw that Lakanwal had spotted him.
The major ducked behind a car and pulled out the only defense he had: a pocket knife, according to sources who spoke to CBS.
When Lakanwal paused to reload, the major leapt from cover and turned the ambush back on the attacker — stabbing the alleged terrorist in the head multiple times and bringing him to the ground, conservative lawyer and strategist Mike Davis reported from law enforcement sources.
During the initial attack, the major allegedly heard Lakanwal yelling “Allahu akbar” — “God is great” — the Muslim phrase commonly yelled by Islamic extremists carrying out terror attacks.
Meanwhile, a fourth National Guardsman was nearby and had ran towards the fray with a pistol drawn, and shot Lakanwal in the buttocks and leg.
Both guardsmen held Lakanwal down until he was arrested.
Follow the latest on the National Guard shooting in Washington, DC:
- Second National Guard member wounded in suspected terror shooting ID’d as Sarah Beckstrom
- Andrew Wolfe ID’d as one of two National Guard members shot in DC
- Alleged DC National Guardsmen shooter was in Afghan army, served alongside US troops: report
- Trump blasts ‘disastrous’ Biden over refugee program that allowed alleged Afghan DC guardsmen shooter into US
Lakanwal survived the shooting and has been charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and intent to kill while armed — and U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro vowed to bring the full weight of the law down if the guardsmen didn’t recover.
It remains unclear exactly what motivated Lakanwal to carry out the alleged attack, but the seeds may have been planted years ago in his Afghanistan home when he was part of local paramilitary operations installed by the US government to combat the Taliban.
It remains unclear what he did for the paramilitary group, but the CIA confirmed his service with the US government ended shortly after American forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
That was when Lakanwal made his way to the US, too, as part of President Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome. The program brought into the US about 76,000 Afghan locals, many of whom aided the American war effort.
He settled in Bellingham — a small town popular with Afghani refugees located about 20 miles from the Canadian border — with his wife and five kids.
Lakanwal is believed to have been the only conspirator in the attack.
With Post wires.
