By C. Ryan Barber and Sadie Gurman
WASHINGTON -- A man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other gun charges on Tuesday, appearing in court virtually from his hospital bed.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who was also shot during the Nov. 26 attack, could be seen on a screen under a blanket at the hospital, where he is still recovering from his injuries under heavy guard. He followed the court proceedings with the help of an interpreter.
Lakanwal, an Afghan national who was granted asylum in the U.S. in April, drove 3,000 miles across the country from his home in Washington state to carry out the attack, authorities said. He approached a group of National Guard members near the White House and fired several rounds with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver while screaming "Allahu Akbar!" according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Other troops fired back, shooting Lakanwal, who fell to the ground and was trying to reload the weapon before another member jumped on him, according to the documents.
One of the National Guard members, U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20 years old, died from her injuries, which included a gunshot to the head. A second, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition. The two victims were part of almost 2,200 National Guard members deployed to Washington, D.C., under President Trump's declaration of a "crime emergency" in the city.
Write to C. Ryan Barber at ryan.barber@wsj.com and Sadie Gurman at sadie.gurman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 02, 2025 14:23 ET (19:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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