WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are looking at whether the Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard members in broad daylight was radicalized after arriving in the US — despite clearing vetting by two different presidential administrations, a senior official told The Post.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal passed security reviews both when he entered the US during President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 and again when he secured asylum under the Trump administration in April.
“You can vet what people have done in the past. You can’t vet what people might do in the future,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained on Fox News‘ “Hannity.”
Authorities are homing in on what happened during Lakanwal’s four years in the United States – most recently residing in Bellingham, Washington – that would motivate him to drive 3,000 miles across the country and shoot two National Guard members in the head in an ambush attack near the White House.
Lakanwal, 29, yelled “Allahu Akbar!” before firing his gun at the soldiers from West Virginia who were protecting the nation’s capital, according to a police report. He’s charged with murdering Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounding Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24.
The Trump administration responded to the shock attack by closing down asylum applications, halting visas from Afghan nationals, and freezing immigration from up to 30 countries. Still, federal officials are signaling that Lakanwal underwent a murderous change that vetting wouldn’t have necessarily picked up because it happened after he arrived on US soil.
“We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him.”
Lakanwal was shot by another National Guard member responding to the abush. He pleaded not guilty through an interpreter on Tuesday during a video court appearance from his hospital bed and said he was in too much pain to open his eyes.
Rubio said some new immigrants may “have no history of radicalization — perhaps they even have worked with you in the past — but they are susceptible to radicalization once they enter the United States.”
During the war in Afghanistan, Lakanwal worked for a “Zero Unit” force alongside the CIA, a paramilitary unit labeled a death squad by human rights groups for its brutality.
He entered the United States on Sept. 8, 2021, according to DHS, through the Biden era program called Operation Allies Welcome program to resettle Afghans after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.
Lakanwal “had no criminal history — nothing,” making him nearly impossible to flag, a former senior intelligence official told the Post.
“We still don’t know why he snapped,” the person added.
Lakanwal, a father of five, allegedly drove from Seattle to Washington, DC, before ambushing the two uniformed soldiers near the White House. Investigators have raided his Washington State apartment but have revealed no manifesto or motive for why he would suddenly attempt to execute US troops.
News reports have noted that Lakanwal was under financial stress because his work permit had expired and he could have been suffering from a mental health crisis. An Afghan commander whom Lakanwal highly regarded also recently died, per ABC.
The Daily Beast reported the possibility of a Taliban hit squad threatening to murder his family in Afghanistan unless he opened fire on American troops in the nation’s capital. The Post could not verify that claim.
The FBI declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
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