America Mourns As National Guard Shot Near White House Dies From Injury, Uncertainty Greets Afghan Immigrants
By: Olufemi Orunsola
Monitored news from multiple international media sources by OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News have it that one of the two National Guard troops shot in Washington mid week has died on Thursday.
The United States mourns the death of the officer a day after officials said an Afghan man who was once part of an anti-Taliban force supported by the C.I.A. was responsible for opening fire on the soldiers just a few blocks from the White House.
OTN News gathered that the deceased officer, who in her lifetime was an
Army Specialist, Sarah Beckstrom, aged 20, succumbed to her injuries.
The US President in a speech addressed to service members by video from his Mar-a-Lago resort and residence said, “She was savagely attacked,” confirming that, “She’s dead.”
The other victim was identified as Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, aged 24.
The two officers, members of the West Virginia National Guard, had been deployed to Washington as part of what Mr. Trump had described as a crackdown on crime in the capital.
Earlier Thursday, Specialist Beckstrom’s father said in a brief interview that she had received a “mortal wound.” A man who answered the door at Sergeant Wolfe’s home asked for “prayers for my son,” but would not speak further.
Meanwhile, the suspect fingered in the attack, who was in custody after being badly wounded during the attack, was identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The authorities said he had driven across the country from Washington State to carry out the attack. Overnight, F.B.I. agents searched an apartment complex in Bellingham, Wash., where the suspect had been living. One neighbor said that a man had been pulled from his unit and was restrained. No further information was immediately available.
Mr. Lakanwal had reportedly entered the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era immigration program for Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover. After he was identified as the suspect, the Trump administration vowed a sweeping re-examination of immigrants from 19 nations “of concern” including Afghanistan. The administration said it would re-examine “every Green Card” for immigrants from the countries upon which he had imposed a travel ban on in June, which also included Haiti and Venezuela.
Officials of the Trump Administration have been swift to criticized the Biden administration for allowing Mr. Lakanwal into the country in 2021 and said they were reviewing all asylum requests approved by the previous administration.
Mr. Lakanwal, however, was granted asylum in April, after Mr. Trump’s return to office, according to three people with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Mr. Trump described the suspect as “nuts” and said there was “no vetting” by the Biden administration. Asked whether his administration had granted the asylum request, Mr. Trump deflected: “When it comes to asylum, when they’re flown in, it’s very hard to get them out,” he said. “No matter how you want to do it, it’s very hard to get them out, but we’re going to be getting them all out now.”
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, told reporters on Thursday morning that the suspect used a .357 revolver, shooting one of the Guard members and then firing again after the member fell to the ground before turning to fire on the other Guard member.
Ms. Pirro said that the suspect was being charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill.
Now that one of the Guard members has died from the attack, he would be charged with first-degree murder.
As the United States mourns the death of the National Guard, speculations have increased that the future of immigrants from Afghan and other countries designated as Countries of Particular Concern by the US may be hanging in the balance of harsh scrutiny and unfavourable moves by Trump's ICE in the coming weeks.
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