U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Thursday provided an update on the ambush shooting that critically injured two West Virginia National Guard members near 17th and I Streets NW on Thanksgiving Eve.
The Guardsmen, identified as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, were shot multiple times while on duty near the Farragut West Metro station. Fellow Guardsmen quickly subdued the attacker, preventing additional casualties.
"We will not allow this to be normalized. It will be confronted, condemned, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Pirro said during an address that aired live on Newsmax.
Authorities identified the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakamal, an Afghan national believed to have driven from Washington state to carry out the assault.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser interpreted the shooting as a direct assault on America itself, rather than specifically on Trump's policies.
"Somebody drove across the country and came to Washington, D.C., to attack America," Bower said. "That person will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
At least one of the guard members exchanged gunfire with the shooter, said a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Social media video shared in the immediate aftermath showed first responders performing CPR on one of the troops and treating the other on a sidewalk covered in broken glass.
The suspect was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Pirro vowed that federal and local agencies will pursue full accountability, calling the attack a targeted assault on those protecting the nation's capital.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi added the two National Guard members shot on Wednesday had come through surgery, adding that the Afghan suspect could face life in prison and will seek the death penalty if either of the Guard members dies.
"Right now, we will base our charges based on their prognosis," Bondi said in a televised interview. "They both came through surgery. I'm not going to talk about their conditions right now. Again, we're praying for a recovery for them, but worst case scenario, minimum life in prison with terrorism charges."
Lakamal entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.
Lakamal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles (127 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.
Prior to his 2021 arrival in the United States, the suspect worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, "as a member of a partner force in Kandahar," John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director, said in a statement.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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