The suspect accused of shooting two National Guard members in an ambush in downtown Washington last week was charged on Tuesday with murder and other offences as he made his first court appearance, appearing remotely from a hospital bed.
A judge ordered Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, held in custody without bond, citing the “sheer terror” of the shooting blocks from the White House that killed one member of the National Guard and critically injured a second. Lakanwal pleaded not guilty to all charges.
“It is fairly clear that he came across the country, 3,000 miles [4,800km], armed, with a specific purpose in mind,” Renee Raymond, a magistrate judge in Washington DC Superior Court, said during the hearing.
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A lawyer for Lakanwal pushed for his release, citing his lack of criminal history.
Lakanwal, an Afghan national, travelled from Washington state to the US capital to carry out the attack, prosecutors alleged.
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A major in the Army National Guard of West Virginia shot Lakanwal and other members of the National Guard and a US Secret Service officer then subdued him, according to the complaint.