SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
One of two National Guard members attacked in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday has died. Speaking a short time ago, President Trump announced that Sarah Beckstrom, age 20 of West Virginia, died from gunshot wounds suffered in the attack. The man accused of opening fire with a handgun in the nation's capital is Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He's 29. He's Afghan, and he worked with U.S. forces, including the CIA, in Afghanistan before coming to the U.S. Federal officials say part of the international error investigation - that's how they're framing it - now underway will focus on that history. Trump administration officials are also claiming Lakanwal was not properly vetted before entering the U.S. NPR's Brian Mann is following these developments. Hi, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: Let's start with the latest. What do we know about Sarah Beckstrom's death?
MANN: Well, as you mentioned, Scott, Trump announced a short time ago that Beckstrom passed from her injuries. We do know that her family was with her. While speaking to U.S. military leaders around the world, Trump said the other guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, also from West Virginia, is still fighting for his life after undergoing surgery. Wolfe remains in critical condition. The U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, spoke at a press conference about this this morning.
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JEANINE PIRRO: Two families are shattered and destroyed and torn apart as a result of the actions of one man.
MANN: And, Scott, Washington, D.C.'s mayor, Muriel Bowser, also spoke today. She's been a critic of this National Guard deployment in her city, but described yesterday's shooting as an attack on America, and referring to these wounded and now one of these deceased soldiers, Bowser said, these young people should be at home with their families in West Virginia.
DETROW: We're learning more today about the alleged shooter. What do we know about his background and any possible motive?
MANN: Yeah. Officials say Lakanwal allegedly drove across the U.S. from his home in Washington state to carry out what's being called a targeted attack. He used a handgun. Pirro said today he'll be charged with terrorism, and she will also seek the death penalty. But Pirro said it's too early to say what his motive might have been. Officials have confirmed that he worked closely with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. A nonprofit group called AfghanEvac says Lakanwal was part of an elite counter terrorism unit, and FBI director Kash Patel said today that part of Lakanwal's history will be a major focus of the investigation underway.
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KASH PATEL: We are fully investigating that aspect of his background as well to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America.
MANN: During that press conference, Patel also said Lakanwal wasn't properly vetted before entering the U.S. He blamed the Biden administration, saying Biden's team failed - and I'm quoting here, Scott - "failed to vet any way, in any way, shape or form, this individual and countless others."
DETROW: That's what they're saying. What do we know about the process for Lakanwal and others who came into the country in recent years?
MANN: What NPR's been able to learn so far is that it appears Lakanwal would have been vetted by the CIA and other U.S. forces inside Afghanistan. There was also a process for scrutinizing Afghan nationals who entered the U.S. after the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban takeover. There were audits done, including one conducted by the FBI this year, that found flaws with that process. It wasn't perfect, but these refugees were indeed vetted. And the FBI report released just in June described its own role in that process as effective and appropriate. I should say, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 and was apparently only granted asylum status this April, in April of this year, under the Trump administration. Given all of that, Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who leads that group, AfghanEvac - that's a group that helps these refugees - he says he's skeptical of the Trump administration's statement that Lakanwal wasn't properly vetted.
SHAWN VANDIVER: We don't know yet. And look, if there was a vetting failure, then we got to fix it, but you can't paint with a broad brush this entire community, right? The vast, vast, vast, vast, vast majority of Afghans who have come here are just good, upstanding citizens.
MANN: But for now, Scott, the Trump administration has suspended all refugee and asylum applications for Afghan nationals. Officials say Afghan nationals who entered the U.S. under that Biden-era refugee program are now going to face additional scrutiny.
DETROW: NPR's Brian Mann. Brian, thanks so much.
MANN: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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