One had volunteered to work the day she was shot so others could spend Thanksgiving with their families
Article content
The FBI said it is launching a terror probe after two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were shot multiple times by a gunman who carried out an “ambush-style” attack in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Advertisement 2
Article content
The shooter, identified by authorities as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan during the war against the Taliban, had settled in the United States after American troops withdrew from the country when the militant group regained power in 2021.
Article content
Article content
Lakanwal faces charges of assault with intent to kill. Should the two soldiers die — they are currently listed in critical condition — the accused will face first-degree murder charges, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said during a Thursday news conference.
“You picked the wrong target, the wrong city and the wrong country,” Pirro said, according to CNN.
Investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies allege Lakanwal travelled from the state of Washington to Washington, D.C. to carry out the violent attack.
Your Midday Sun
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
WKe23nzg”}”data-video-id=”WKe23nzg“id=”player-WKe23nzg“class=youtube-iframe data-autoplay=False data-channel-id data-controls=True data-host=torontosun.com data-is-jw-strategy=True data-jw-strategy-playlist-id=S5zBrt6V data-loc=1 data-loop=False data-mute=False data-playlist-type data-position=inline data-provider=youtube data-single-video-component data-version=dchHpZtp>
FBI director Kash Patel said the shooting is an “ongoing investigation of terrorism,” stating officials are investigating any associates Lakanwal had in the U.S. or in Afghanistan.
“That is what a broad-based international terrorism investigation looks like,” Patel told the assembled media.
It’s alleged that Lakanwal staged an ambush attack on the soldiers, shooting them with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver. The soldiers were in the nation’s capital as part of President Donald Trump’s call for the use of military forces in Democrat-run cities to fight violent crime.
Pirro said the suspect walked up to the soldiers near a subway stop and started shooting “without provocation, ambush style.”
She said other soldiers responded immediately and subdued Lakanwal at the scene.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Wounded trooper volunteered to work day she was shot
One of the wounded soldiers had volunteered to work the day she was shot so others could spend Thanksgiving with their families.
The trooper, whom Pirro identified as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, was shot in the head and chest, per the New York Post.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
“She volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving — working today — she volunteers, as did many of those guardsmen and women so other people could be home with their families,” Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, told Fox News on Thursday. “Yet now, their families are in hospital rooms with them while they are fighting for their lives.”
The other wounded guardsman has been identified as Andrew Wolfe, 24.
Pirro said both Wolfe and Beckstrom were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot.
Both troopers have undergone surgery and are in critical condition in hospital.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Article content
