National Guard shooting suspect faces murder charge after 1 soldier dies

Charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the US attorney for the District of Columbia announced on Friday, while investigators continue to seek a motive.

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24 were hospitalised in critical condition after the Wednesday afternoon shooting near the White House. Trump announced on Thursday evening that Beckstrom had died.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said the charges against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War, now include one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.

Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard as part of US President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting mission that federalised the DC police force. The president also has deployed or tried to deploy National Guard members to other cities to assist with his mass deportation efforts but has faced court challenges.

Trump called the shooting a “terrorist attack” and criticised the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with US forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the US. The president has said he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and expel millions of immigrants from the country.

In an interview on Fox News, Pirro said there are “many charges to come” beyond the upgraded murder charge. She said her heart goes out to the family of Beckstrom, who volunteered to serve and “ended up being shot ambush-style on the cold streets of Washington DC”.