DC National Guard shooter faces first degree murder

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KQTV) -- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the suspect in the shooting of two National Guardsmen is being charged with first-degree murder.

The announcement came during Pirro's live interview on Fox News' "Fox and Friends".

"Our hearts go out to 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, who answered the call to serve her nation, and she volunteered and ended up being shot, ambush style, on the cold streets of Washington, D.C.," said Pirro. "...by an individual who will now be charged with murder in the first degree."

President Trump announced Beckstrom's death Thursday evening, while 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition.

The suspect in the shooting has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who officials say came to the US in 2021 under a program implemented by the Biden administration following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to CNN.

Lakanwal had previously worked in Afghanistan with the CIA, according to the agency’s director, John Ratcliffe. He was granted asylum in April by the Trump administration.

"There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first-degree," Pirro continued.

Pirro also mentioned, as the 24/7 investigation unfolds, she hopes there will be more answers uncovered as to why Beckstrom was "ambushed".

President Trump announced in a Truth Social post Thursday that the U.S. will "permanently pause all migration from third-world countries."