As investigators work to determine a motive, the Trump administration said Sunday that it believes the Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks from the White House was “radicalized” in the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” said Rahmanullah Lakanwal “was radicalized since he’s been here in this country. We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members.” She offered no additional information to support her statement.
West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the shooting, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded. Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder.
Lakanwal had been unraveling for years, unable to hold a job and flipping between long, lightless stretches of isolation and taking sudden weekslong cross-country drives, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press. His behavior deteriorated so sharply that a community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal.
The emails, according to The Associated Press, reveal mounting warnings about the asylum-seeker whose erratic conduct raised alarms long before the attack that jolted the nation’s capital on the eve of Thanksgiving.
Here are more headlines from the Trump administration on Sunday:
Ukraine: U.S. and Ukrainian officials completed roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine, just days before President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the session with the Ukrainian team in Florida was productive but work remains in the search for a peace deal. “It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said. “It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity.”
Military: Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack, as reported by the Washington Post last week. Some Republicans were skeptical of the report, but said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns. Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday evening while flying back to Washington from Florida, where he celebrated Thanksgiving, confirmed that he had recently spoken with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
—From Associated Press and wire reports