In the aftermath of the ambush-style shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, in which one was killed, the Trump administration has ordered further crackdown on immigration. At the same time, we are learning more about the victims and piecing together more information on the suspect.
Here’s the latest:
• On the victims: The grieving father of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom said his “baby girl has passed to glory.” Her former boyfriend told CNN that Beckstrom’s long-term goal was to join the FBI. “She just wanted to be a part of the change, be a part of the difference, and help people out,” he said. The other victim, National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition after surgery.
• Potential charge: The 29-year-old alleged shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal will face a murder charge following Beckstrom’s death, according to Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
• The question of vetting: The suspect is an Afghan national who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan and came to the US in 2021 under a program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Trump administration has blamed the Biden administration for admitting the suspect into the country. However, his application for asylum was approved this year by the Trump administration, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN. Afghans admitted to the US under Operation Allies Welcome program did, in fact, go through vetting in addition to background checks already required for working with US government agencies.
• Immigration crackdown: Trump has ordered a review of green-card holders from Afghanistan and other “countries of concern,” and the Department of Homeland Security said yesterday it will review all asylum cases that were approved under Biden. More than 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the US since August 2021, according to the State Department.
• Piecing together more information: The suspect lived in an apartment complex in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife, five children and two nephews, according to a neighbor who requested to remain anonymous to protect his privacy. The suspect was a “simple and nice guy,” who attended a local mosque, the neighbor said. But the suspect had not gone to the mosque in over two weeks, he added. The neighbor said to his knowledge, the suspect was unemployed and had been looking for a job.
• Fear: Afghans across the country are feeling “great fear” as Trump escalates his anti-immigration rhetoric, the president of a nonprofit that relocates and resettles Afghan people told CNN today. Shawn VanDiver, the president of AfghanEvac, said the suspect’s action is not representative of the Afghan people who “absolutely decry what this man did,” VanDiver said.
CNN’s Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Tala Alrajjal and Andy Rose contributed to this post.