When Rahmanullah Lakanwal first arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan, he seemed lively and hopeful. Over several years, however, he reportedly slipped into isolation and began taking long cross-country drives without telling his family, a volunteer who worked closely with his family told NPR.
Lakanwal, an Afghan national, is accused of shooting two National Guard soldiers on Nov. 26. One of those soldiers, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died from her wounds. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the other guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, was in “serious” condition.
“My biggest concern was that [Lakanwal] would harm himself,” the refugee resettlement volunteer said. “I worried he would be suicidal because he was so withdrawn.” The volunteer spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears for their safety and the safety of others in their volunteer community because of possible retaliation for having worked with Afghan refugees.
The volunteer said they first met Lakanwal in 2022 in Bellingham, Wash., where he initially appeared outgoing—outside with his children, laughing and talking with other Afghan men. He held jobs briefly and hosted gatherings, but by 2023 he became increasingly isolated and appeared “defeated” by the challenges of finding steady work and adapting to life in the United States.
The volunteer shared emails sent in January 2024 that raised alarms about Lakanwal’s well-being. “He spends most of his time in his darkened bedroom, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife and older kids,” one email said. “I personally believe that [Mr. Lakanwal] is suffering from both PTSD and from his work with the US military in Afghanistan,” the volunteer added, noting they were not a healthcare professional.
On NBC’s Meet the Press, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said U.S. officials believe Lakanwal was “radicalized” while living in the United States, adding they think it occurred through connections in his home community and state.
But the volunteer who worked with Lakanwal and other Afghan refugees in Washington state said they saw no signs of radicalization. They described a man in a deepening personal crisis, hampered by poor English skills and cultural isolation, and said organized support beyond initial resettlement was lacking. “Families were just in my mind abandoned into the community,” the volunteer said.
Before coming to the U.S. in 2021, Lakanwal served in one of Afghanistan’s elite counterterrorism units, AfghanEvac, a nonprofit run by U.S. veterans and others who served in Afghanistan, told NPR. AfghanEvac said his unit was operated by the CIA with U.S. intelligence and military support and fought the Taliban on behalf of the U.S. government. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the shooter was admitted into the U.S. “due to his prior work with the U.S. Government, including CIA.”
The volunteer said they had no detailed knowledge of Lakanwal’s military duties and never saw him express hostility toward the United States. His increasingly erratic behavior did not, in their view, suggest any clear threat. “I was so shocked that this happened. I asked myself, ‘Were there warning signs?’ No,” the volunteer said.
Beginning in 2023, Lakanwal reportedly began disappearing for weeks at a time in the family car, traveling as far as Arizona and Illinois. “He drives day and night and sends map pins to one of the volunteer sponsors and we can grab photos from Instagram stories, but no other communication. His family generally does not know where he is or when he will be back,” an email from January 2024 said.
Volunteers in Washington state tried to contact professional refugee aid groups, including World Relief and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), seeking help for Lakanwal’s deteriorating mental state but received limited response. NPR contacted those organizations; USCRI did not respond. World Relief declined to confirm whether it had any involvement in Lakanwal’s resettlement, saying it cannot confirm serving any specific client without permission from federal government partners that administered the U.S. resettlement process beginning in 2021. The group said it provided services to refugees assigned to it by governmental partners and is supporting law enforcement in the investigation.
Following the attack, the Trump administration moved to freeze refugee cases involving Afghan nationals and launched a review of refugees and migrants from more than a dozen countries living legally in the U.S. Activists working with Afghan asylum-seekers said they view Lakanwal’s alleged violence as an isolated incident. “You can’t paint with a broad brush this entire community. The vast majority of Afghans who have come here are just good upstanding citizens,” said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who leads AfghanEvac.
