The day before Thanksgiving, a 29-year-old Afghan national who once fought alongside American forces drove nearly 3,000 miles to the nation’s capital with a revolver. In less than a minute near the White House, he turned two young soldiers’ futures upside down—killed one, left another fighting for his life.
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, would be dead by Thursday. The nation reeled. President Trump militarized Washington like never before.
An Unarmed Major Saved Lives With A Pocket Knife
What stopped the shooter wasn’t training or firepower. It was a pocket knife held by an unarmed major who heard gunfire and ran toward it. When the suspect paused to reload, the major attacked, stabbing him repeatedly in the head and torso.
Another guardsman shot the attacker. This is the story nobody saw coming—how improvisation and aggression stopped an active shooter blocks from the White House.
How A Trusted Afghan Ally Became A Suspect In Minutes
Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s story is impossible to reconcile in your head. During Afghanistan’s war, he didn’t fight against Americans—he fought with them. He was part of a CIA-backed paramilitary unit called “Zero Unit” working alongside U.S. Special Forces.
According to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, he was embedded with American intelligence. He was supposed to be one of the good guys. Then everything changed.
She Volunteered To Work Thanksgiving So Others Could Be Home
On Wednesday, November 26, Sarah Beckstrom was 20 years old, volunteering for her shift so other soldiers could spend the holiday with their families. The Army Specialist from Summersville, West Virginia, had enlisted two years earlier, dreaming of joining the FBI.
Instead, she stood guard near Farragut West Metro station, two blocks from the White House. It was an ordinary afternoon that turned out to be anything but.
“My Baby Girl Has Passed To Glory,” Her Father Posts
Her father, Gary Beckstrom, found himself holding his daughter’s hand, knowing there was no recovery coming. “I’m holding her hand right now,” he told the New York Times. “She has a mortal wound. There’s not going to be a recovery.”
By Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, she was gone. That evening, Gary posted three words that would haunt the nation: “My baby girl has passed to glory.”
Brother Officer Remains In ICU, Brain Swelling, Fighting For Life
Across town, another family entered a different nightmare measured in critical hours and brain swelling and machines doing the work of lungs. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, had also been on that post. Unlike Sarah, he survived the initial attack.
His mother, Melody, sat by his bedside describing those first 24 to 48 hours as the most critical of his life.
Gunman Approached From Corner, Opened Fire Without Warning
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called it what it was: a targeted shooting. According to the Metropolitan Police, the gunman “came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm, and discharged it” at the two National Guard members without warning.
It happened so fast that neither soldier had time to react. Both were trained, armed, and wore body armor. None of it mattered. He had only four rounds but didn’t need more.
He Got Asylum Under Biden’s Afghan Rescue Program In 2021
When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021, the U.S. launched Operation Allies Welcome to evacuate Afghans who’d worked with American forces. Lakanwal was exactly who the program was designed to save.
On September 8, 2021, he received humanitarian parole and entered the United States, promising a new life. Approximately 76,000 Afghans came through. He was one of them, approved to stay.
He Built A Family, Got Asylum Approval, Then Something Broke
By all appearances, his new life unfolded normally. He moved to Bellingham, Washington. He started a family with a wife and children. He worked as a delivery driver. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was approved by Trump’s administration in April 2025.
He had papers, a home, employment, and safety. He had everything. Then something fractured inside him, something nobody saw coming.
Investigators: He Feared Deportation Despite Having Asylum Approval
Law enforcement sources report a troubling account of what triggered the collapse. Lakanwal struggled with paranoia and mental health issues stemming from his wartime service. More specifically, investigators believed he’d become convinced the government would deport him—that despite his asylum approval, he’d be sent back to Afghanistan.
The psychological pressure of that belief, combined with his trauma, fractured something fundamental in his mind.
Fellow Afghan Commander Denied Asylum, Died In 2024, Changed Everything
Then there was his friend, a fellow Afghan commander who also sought refuge in America. That man was denied asylum. In 2024, he died. According to those who knew Lakanwal, he was deeply troubled by the loss and devastated by the rejection his friend suffered.
Investigators examined whether this death triggered something more profound, whether it fed into paranoia or rage that eventually exploded into violence.
He Drove Across America With A Revolver
Nobody knows precisely when Lakanwal decided to drive across the country. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro confirmed: he left Bellingham and drove nearly 3,000 miles—roughly 40 hours behind the wheel—with a revolver and what investigators believed was a specific target in mind. The National Guard members stationed near the White House.
But the why remained locked in his silence. He wasn’t cooperating with the authorities. Answers lingered unanswered.
Trump Calls Attack “Act Of Evil,” “Crime Against Humanity”
President Trump was at Mar-a-Lago when he learned two National Guard soldiers had been shot near the White House. By that evening, his language was unmeasured and raw. “This heinous assault was an act of evil and an act of hatred and an act of terror,” he declared. “It was a crime against our entire nation; it was a crime against humanity.” Justice would be swift.
Hegseth Orders Reinforcements, DC Now Heavily Militarized
Within hours, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. They were being added to roughly 2,200 already on duty under Operation DC Safe and Beautiful, Trump’s military-backed effort that had actually been working.
Crime was down 40 percent. Carjackings were down 52 percent. Now the theory was tested again, with even more uniforms, more checkpoints, and a more visible presence of force.
Not One Guard Member Requested To Leave After The Attack
When the shooting happened, West Virginia National Guard members had a choice. They could request reassignment. They could ask to go home.
Governor Patrick Morrisey later told CBS News that not a single soldier requested to leave their post. “I haven’t heard of anyone step back,” he said. “They wanted to stay.” It revealed something fundamental about military culture—service doesn’t end with an attack. It deepens.
Trump Suspends All Afghan Applications, Reviews Thousands Of Cases
But Sarah’s death and Andrew’s fight for his life didn’t stay confined to their families. One man’s crime became national policy almost immediately. Trump’s administration announced it would “re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden”—tens of thousands of people.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended all new Afghan applications. The Department of Homeland Security began reviewing approved cases from the Biden years.
Federal Government Will Pursue Death Penalty
Attorney General Pam Bondi made clear there would be no mercy in Lakanwal’s prosecution. The federal government would pursue the death penalty. By the time Beckstrom died, charges were upgraded to first-degree murder.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro had been blunt: “If one of them dies, and God forbid that, this is murder one. Period.” God did forbid it, and it happened. Swift, certain, severe justice would follow.
Two Soldiers Who Truly Believed Their Mission Mattered
Sarah Beckstrom believed in the mission. Friends told reporters she’d actually grown to love her assignment in Washington, even though she’d dreaded it at first. She understood the work mattered. She volunteered on Thanksgiving so others could be home.
Andrew Wolfe was the same kind of person. Neighbors described him as someone who would give anything to help. That selflessness can’t be taught.
How Do We Honor Those Who Put Themselves Between Us And Chaos?
Their story had become something more than a crime report. It was a mirror reflecting how this nation treats loyalty. How do we honor those who put themselves between us and chaos?
What do we owe people like Sarah, who volunteered to stand alert on a holiday’s eve so others could be home? What do we owe the 76,000 Afghans brought here under programs designed to protect them?
America Must Answer: Who Do We Bring In, And What Do We Owe Them?
These are the questions that lingered after the ambulances left, the funerals were planned, and the White House lockdown was lifted. Sarah and Andrew raised them by their presence on that pavement near Farragut West.
They force us to reckon with who we bring into this country, how we treat them, and what happens when one person breaks the contract. America doesn’t yet have the words to answer them. But the nation must try.
Sources:
- AP / Reuters national desk coverage of DC National Guard shooting and official statements (November 26–29, 2025)
- FBI, Department of Justice, and D.C. Metropolitan Police briefings and releases on the Beckstrom/Wolfe ambush and suspect charges (Nov 2025)
- NBC News / CBS News / CNN on-scene reporting and interviews with officials, Guard representatives, and victims’ families (Nov 2025)
- White House and Defense Department press conferences on National Guard deployment, policy response, and Operation Allies Welcome (Nov 2025)