DC Guard Shooting Suspect Is in 'Dire Circumstances'

The man accused of gunning down two National Guard members near the White House, killing one, is now in a hospital, with a federal judge describing his condition as both "dire" and "self-inflicted." Court filings say 30-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who faces 17 charges, including first-degree murder, has been refusing food and sometimes water for an extended period while in federal custody, the New York Times reports. The US Marshals Service warned that he risked serious, potentially fatal health consequences; he was moved from jail to a hospital around midnight Wednesday to "preserve his life," prosecutors said.

At an emergency hearing Thursday, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that prosecutors may access Lakanwal's medical records and consult his treatment providers during his hospitalization, overriding an earlier protective order. "As I understand it, Mr. Lakanwal's health has deteriorated quite substantially and he is in dire circumstances," Mehta said. Lakanwal, who could face the death penalty, has pleaded not guilty in the November 2025 attack, in which he allegedly drove from Washington state to DC, opened fire on West Virginia National Guard members, and fatally shot Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, while critically injuring Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24.

Beckstrom was posthumously awarded the West Virginia Distinguished Service Medal and a Purple Heart, while Wolfe, who was shot in the head and continues to recover, was honored with a "Freedom 250: Hometown Hero Award" and the same military decoration. In the years before the shooting, Lakanwal, who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan before coming to the US in 2021, became isolated as he struggled to adapt to life in the US, the Washington Post reports.