Topline
President Donald Trump announced that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, one of the two National Guard soldiers targeted in Wednesday’s shooting in Washington, D.C., had died from her injuries, as the shooting suspect, an Afghan national, faces multiple charges that is now expected to include first-degree murder.
This photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Thursday.
Associated Press
Key Facts
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., said the National Guard members, Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, are still in critical condition.
The father of Beckstrom told The New York Times she was unlikely to recover, saying she “has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which completely halted Afghan immigration processing after the shooting, announced Thursday it will conduct “a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Thursday morning that “if something happens,” to the victims, the Department of Justice “will do everything in our power to seek the death penalty,” against the suspect.
The suspected shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, drove across country from his home in Washington with the intent to do harm, Pirro alleged, noting he will be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
If either of the National Guard members do not survive, Pirro said the charges could be upgraded to first degree murder against Lakanwal, an Afghan national who worked with the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. in 2021 under a Biden-era program for individuals seeking asylum.
In a video address late Wednesday night, President Donald Trump said the two National Guard members were “shot at point-blank range in a monstrous, ambush-style attack just steps away from the White House.”
Trump said the “heinous assault” was “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” adding that it was a “crime against our entire nation…[and] a crime against humanity.”
Trump said the attack underscored that the “single greatest national security threat facing our nation” was the millions of immigrants who entered the country during the Biden administration, who he claimed were “unknown and unvetted.”
Trump said his administration will now “re-examine every single” Afghan immigrant who entered the country under Biden and remove anyone “who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country.”
What Do We Know About The Suspension Of Entry Of Afghans?
Shortly after Trump’s address, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced: “Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.” This processing pause will affect Afghans in the U.S. seeking asylum, attempting to obtain green cards, and pursuing other immigration procedures.