By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The Justice Department has filed new charges against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting Nov. 26 of a National Guard trooper and the wounding of her partner.
Charges include transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, and with transporting a stolen firearm in interstate commerce.
Rahmanullah is the non-citizen from Afghanistan who had been residing in Bellingham, Washington. The gun recovered is a .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson five-shot revolver. According to CBS News, the handgun had been purchased legally some years ago by a now-deceased Evergreen State resident. That person died in 2023, CBS is reporting Lakanwal allegedly bought the gun in November. It had been stolen from the home of the dead original buyer, several months after his death more than two years ago.
Lakanwal’s purchase of the handgun apparently was done in violation of Washington’s “universal background check” requirement mandating that all gun transactions be done through a federally-licensed firearms retailer so a background check may be conducted.
The significance of this development may not be known for some time. If it becomes an issue upon which majority anti-gun Democrats in Washington’s Legislature can hang more restrictive gun control legislation, Second Amendment advocates could argue the way this gun changed hands demonstrates existing gun control laws didn’t prevent it from happening.
Lakanwal “remains charged with first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of the D.C. Code,” the new complaint explains..
The Justice Department announcement said Lakanwal allegedly drove a Toyota Prius from Bellingham to the District of Columbia last month, with the stolen handgun in his possession. He had purchased ammunition for the gun in mid-November, as reported by the New York Post, at a sporting goods store in Bellingham. He had also reportedly been trying to purchase an AR-15 rifle and AK-47-type pistol, but ended up only able to buy the stolen handgun, which appears to be a Model 340, a J-frame double-action-only revolver with a fiber optic front sight, 1.88-inch barrel, synthetic grip and overall length of just over 6.3 inches.
Lakanwal was shot by another Guard trooper, and according to the DOJ, he was taken into custody by the Secret Service. The attack killed National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injured National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, the DOJ noted.
The shooting was captured on video cameras.
