National Guard Shooting Suspect May Have Been Radicalized in US: Noem

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Nov. 30 that the man accused of shooting two National Guardsmen in Washington last week may have been radicalized after entering the United States.

The suspect—Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who had worked with the CIA during the war in Afghanistan—is accused of fatally shooting National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and injuring Andrew Wolfe, 24, in the nation’s capital on Nov. 26.

Authorities charged Lakanwal with first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

He entered the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, launched after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and was granted asylum in April this year, officials said.

“We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem told NBC News on Sunday. “We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state. … Anyone who has information on this needs to know that we will be coming after you, and we will bring you to justice.”

In another interview with ABC’s “This Week,” Noem said the former administration brought Lakanwal to the United States “and then maybe vetted after that, but not done well based on what the guidelines were put forward by President [Joe] Biden.”

Noem said federal investigators are talking to Lakanwal’s family and contacts about his alleged radicalization and will release more details “when it’s appropriate.”

When ABC host Jonathan Karl asked Noem if the Trump administration saw “any red flags” when it granted Lakanwal asylum in April, Noem responded that “all the information that was gathered on that vetting process was gathered under the Biden administration.”

“His asylum claim application started under the Biden administration; that information was provided by them, and the responsibility lies with them,” she said.

After Karl pressed the secretary on whether the Trump administration did any vetting of its own in addition to what was supplied by the previous administration, Noem said officials followed the same procedure that was in place during Biden’s time in office, but “that has been completely fixed.”

“New metrics and new processes have been added under President [Donald] Trump,” she said, later adding, “Much of the information that was gathered and provided by the Biden administration wasn’t thorough.”

In an interview that aired right after Noem’s, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) accused the Trump administration of not accepting accountability.

“They tell us how they’ve improved the vetting processes, and now they’re trying to blame everything on the Biden administration,” Van Hollen told ABC.

Karl asked the senator how the government is supposed to vet someone “if the radicalization happens here.”

“That’s a very good point … this is a person who worked with the CIA for years, so the reality is that we really don’t know what motivated him to take this particular act,” Van Hollen said, adding that the government should always review its vetting procedures.

“But in this case, there’s no evidence that there was something that escaped the vetting,” the senator said.

While in Afghanistan, Lakanwal worked in Zero Unit, a special outfit in the Afghan Army backed by the CIA, officials said.

Officials say that after Lakanwal was admitted into the United States, he lived in Bellingham, Washington state, a city located between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In Bellingham, the Afghan national had resettled with his wife and their five sons, all of whom are under the age of 12.

Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.