A judge has ordered Rahmanullah Rakanwal held without bail after a mass shooting in Washington, D.C., caused “pure terror.”
Published December 2, 2025
A man accused of fatally shooting two National Guard soldiers during an attack in Washington, D.C., has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and assault charges.
Rahmanullah Rakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, made his first court appearance remotely via video from his hospital bed on Tuesday. Lakhanwal was also shot dead in the case, and his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
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A Washington judge ordered Lakhanwal, who served in a CIA-trained unit in his native Afghanistan during the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, to be held without bail, saying Wednesday’s shootings had caused “pure terror” in the country’s capital.
Two National Guard troops dispatched to Washington, D.C. by the Trump administration as part of its anti-crime efforts were targeted in the attack.
The shooting, which killed 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and wounded 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolf, was quickly used by Republicans to call for tighter restrictions on entry into the United States.
Prosecutors allege Lakhanwal traveled to Washington, D.C. from Washington state on the other side of the country to carry out the deadly attack.
U.S. news outlets reported that Lakhanwal, who fled Afghanistan after the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in 2021, had become increasingly discouraged and isolated about the direction of his life since the war, prompting concerns from colleagues about his mental state.
