Federal prosecutors filed new charges Tuesday against a man accused of fatally shooting one National Guard member and gravely injuring another in Washington, D.C., opening the door for the Justice Department to potentially seek the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal was charged with eight additional counts in a superseding indictment, including murder of a person assisting an officer of the United States and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime that causes death, both of which are death penalty-eligible.
A D.C.-based federal grand jury also separately found that Lakanwal “intentionally killed” Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and attempted to kill more than one person — factors that are necessary for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
The Justice Department said in a statement its Capital Case Committee will review whether to seek the death penalty in Lakanwal’s case.
Lakanwal is facing several other federal attempted murder and firearm charges, along with first-degree murder, assault and gun possession charges under D.C. law.
He pleaded not guilty on all counts at a hearing Tuesday.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lakanwal — an Afghan national — is accused of killing Beckstrom and critically wounding Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe in an ambush-style shooting several blocks from the White House last November. He was also charged with attempting to kill two other unnamed service members who subdued him at the scene of the attack.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were members of the West Virginia National Guard who were deployed to the streets of D.C. last year as part of an anti-crime operation.
Lakanwal left Afghanistan and was paroled into the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program designed to quickly evacuate and vet Afghan nationals during the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country and the Taliban’s return to power. He later applied for asylum, and his application was granted last year, though his application for a green card was still pending, a Department of Homeland Security official previously told CBS News.
While in Afghanistan, Lakanwal worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, a spokesperson for the agency said. CBS News has reported that he led an Afghan military unit that worked with international forces.