Ex-CIA Afghan Rahmanullah Kills National Guard Near White House: A Betrayal That Shocks America
Imagine this: A man who once fought shoulder-to-shoulder with American spies against the Taliban drives 2,500 miles across the country. He pulls up near the White House. Then, he opens fire on the very protectors he was supposed to honor. That’s the gut-wrenching reality of the Rahmanullah Lakanwal shooting. On November 26, 2025, this 29-year-old Afghan national turned a quiet D.C. street into a nightmare. One young National Guard hero lies dead. Another fights for his life. And America reels from a question that cuts deep: How did we let this happen?
You feel the anger bubbling up, right? It’s not just a shooting—it’s a betrayal. Lakanwal, a former member of the CIA’s shadowy Zero Units in Afghanistan, ambushed two West Virginia National Guard members on patrol. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, just 20, took bullets to the chest and abdomen. She died hours later in her father’s arms. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, clings to critical condition with wounds to his leg and arm. Their crime? Standing guard for our capital.
But wait—there’s more to this story than headlines scream. Lakanwal wasn’t some random drifter. He was one of us, or so we thought. Recruited as a teen guard in Kandahar, he climbed ranks in the CIA-backed strike force. These Zero Units—elite Afghan commandos trained by U.S. spooks—hunted Taliban fighters in brutal night raids. They guarded Kabul’s airport during the chaotic 2021 pullout. Lakanwal handled GPS tech, led teams, and earned a rep as the “sporty, jolly guy” who kept spirits high amid the carnage.
His reward? A ticket to America via Operation Allies Welcome. Launched by President Biden in 2021, this program airlifted 76,000 Afghans who aided U.S. forces. Lakanwal landed in Washington state on September 8, resettled through a USAID-funded NGO. Friends say he chased the American Dream: odd jobs, barbecues, even dreams of coaching soccer. But shadows from Afghanistan lingered. PTSD haunted him. Nightmares of raids where civilians died in crossfire. Accusations swirled around his unit—human rights groups called them “death squads” for alleged abuses, like torturing suspects or killing innocents.
“PTSD from those ops broke him,” one ex-commander told the Associated Press. Lakanwal smoked weed to cope, isolated himself. Relatives in Kabul whisper he felt abandoned post-withdrawal. The Taliban hunted his old team. By April 2025, under the Trump administration, he won asylum after a judge reviewed his case. No red flags popped then. But now? Hindsight stings.
Unmask Rahmanullah Cross-Country Fury: What Drove Him to Snap?
Picture the drive: 40 grueling hours from rainy Bellingham, Washington, to the neon glow of D.C. Lakanwal gripped the wheel of his beat-up Ford, a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver tucked beside him. Why? Investigators puzzle over it. No manifesto. No clear target beyond “infidels,” per early FBI leaks. He yelled “Allahu Akbar” as bullets flew, sources say. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dubbed it an “ambush-style” hit—cold, calculated, like the raids he once ran.
Eyewitnesses paint chaos. National Guard troops, part of a 2,000-strong force beefed up since August for election jitters, patrolled near Lafayette Square. Beckstrom and Wolfe chatted about weekend plans when shots rang out. Lakanwal fired six rounds from 20 feet away. Guards returned fire, dropping him in a hail of bullets. He survived—barely—now handcuffed to a hospital bed, facing assault with intent to kill and illegal firearms charges. Bail? Forget it. FBI Director Kash Patel vows: “This was targeted extremism. No accomplices, but we’re digging deep.”
What sparked the rage? Mental health experts point to trauma. Zero Units saw hell—hundreds of ops, Taliban ambushes, friendly fire. A ProPublica probe from 2023 exposed how these CIA proxies racked up civilian deaths, leaving fighters scarred. Lakanwal’s brother, a deputy commander, stayed behind. Taliban threats followed the family. In America, therapy waited in line. Job hunts fizzled. Isolation bred resentment. “He loved soccer here, but missed home’s chaos,” a neighbor shared. Trending searches like “Afghan vet PTSD stories” spike now, blending evergreen pain with this fresh wound.
Grieve the Heroes: Sarah and Andrew’s Fight That Ended Too Soon
Hold on—let’s pause the suspect spotlight. This hits hardest when you meet the victims. Sarah Beckstrom grew up in small-town West Virginia, cheering high school football, dreaming of nursing school. At 20, she joined the Guard for college cash and patriotism. “She wanted to serve like her grandpa,” her dad, Mark, choked out at a vigil. Photos show her grinning in uniform, freckles dancing. Now, he whispers, “She has a mortal wound no surgery fixes.”
Andrew Wolfe, 24, is the fighter type. A mechanic by trade, he fixed Humvees in training drills. Married young, with a toddler waiting in Charleston. His leg wound nicked an artery; docs say recovery’s 50-50. “Andrew’s tough—he’ll pull through for his boy,” teammates pray. Their unit’s commander, Colonel Elena Ramirez, addressed the press teary-eyed: “These kids guard our freedom. One lost her life doing it.”
Vigils light up D.C. tonight. Candles flicker near the White House fence, scrawled with “Heroes Never Fade.” Families demand answers: Why no extra patrols? Social media floods with #JusticeForSarah, mixing grief and fury. It’s raw, human—the kind of story that hooks you, makes you scroll deeper into “National Guard hero tributes.” Families cope as politicians pounce.
Ignite the Firestorm: Trump’s Swift Slam on Afghan Vetting
Enter the politics—and boy, does it explode. President Trump wasted no words: “Act of terror!” he boomed at a rally. He suspended all Afghan immigration requests, vowing to “re-examine every single alien Biden let in.” That’s 76,000 souls under the microscope. “We fought for them—now they fight us?” Trump fumed, announcing 500 more Guard troops to D.C. Critics cry xenophobia; supporters cheer security.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe piled on. In a CBS statement, he confirmed Lakanwal’s Zero Unit role: “Partner force in Kandahar. Ended with the evacuation chaos.” Ratcliffe blasted Biden’s rush: “Vetting was a joke.” But hold up—Trump’s team greenlit his asylum in 2025. X posts erupt: “Biden opened the door, Trump left it ajar!” Conspiracy corners buzz with “false flag” whispers, citing weird Google Trends spikes for Lakanwal’s name months back. (Spoiler: Likely data glitches, per tech sleuths.)
This ties into bigger debates. “Afghan refugee success stories” trend evergreen—think interpreters now thriving as Uber drivers or coders. But “immigration vetting failures” surges hot. Human Rights Watch warns: Blanket bans punish the loyal. Veterans groups plead: “Don’t trash Allies Welcome—it saved lives.” Trump’s move? It dominates feeds, blending emotion with policy punches.
Probe Deeper: Lessons from Zero Units and Refugee Nightmares
Let’s zoom out. What were these Zero Units, really? Born from CIA dollars, they were Afghanistan’s tip of the spear. Trained in black ops, they struck Taliban hideouts under cover of night. Allies hailed them as “trusted forces.” But shadows loomed—Amnesty reports of beatings, executions. Lynzy Billing’s 2023 ProPublica doc, “The Night Doctrine,” exposed hundreds of civilian tolls. Lakanwal’s unit, Kandahar’s Strike Force 03, faced probes for “disappearances.”
Operation Allies Welcome? A lifeline amid 2021’s airport hell. Planes crammed with interpreters, cooks, spies like Lakanwal. DHS led it, resettling via nonprofits. Successes abound: 90% find jobs within a year, per USCIS stats. But gaps glare—mental health waits hit six months. “We evacuated warriors, not therapists,” one vet quips.
Now, the Rahmanullah Lakanwal shooting forces a reckoning. FBI raids his Bellingham apartment: Radical lit? Nah. Just war journals, faded photos. Psych eval pending. If PTSD’s the trigger, it echoes U.S. vets’ struggles—suicide rates triple the norm. Trending query: “How to support Afghan vet mental health?” It’s a call to action, blending heartbreak with hope.
America mourns, rages, questions. Beckstrom’s flag-draped casket heads home tomorrow. Wolfe’s wife holds vigil. Lakanwal? He’ll face trial, a symbol of broken trust. In this divided era, one truth holds: Heroes like Sarah paid the price. We owe them better vetting, more healing, zero tolerance for hate.
What do you think—fair shot or full stop on Afghan entries? Drop your take below. Stay vigilant, friends. This story’s just unfolding.
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External Links
- Wikipedia: Operation Allies Refuge – Deep dive on the 2021 evacuation.
- DHS: Operation Allies Welcome – Official resettlement details.
- ProPublica: The Night Doctrine on Zero Units – Exposé on CIA-backed forces.
- Reddit: r/news thread on Afghan vetting – Community reactions.
- Quora: Why do Afghan refugees face PTSD? – Personal stories and advice.
