A man charged following a double shooting in Washington DC is understood to have lived an ordinary life in the suburbs, as neighbours have said they saw him playing video games.
The Afghan man, accused of shooting two National Guard troops just blocks from the White House, lived with his wife and five kids in a $2,000-a-month flat, which was raided by the FBI on Wednesday.
Afghan Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was often seen playing Call of Duty and Fifa inside his apartment, neighbours told the New York Post.
The family had no beds and slept on couch cushions, according to neighbours.
One neighbour said the family “never made a peep”, and added Lakanwal did not speak much English.
The neighbour said “Bellingham is very liberal”, with the area being “very welcoming, very diverse, very open”.
The refugee arrived in the States in 2021 as part of the Operational Allies Program, following the US pullout from Afghanistan.
He had served with US troops in a unit called Scorpion Forces, which initially operated under the CIA.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal was identified as an Afghan national
|REUTERS
The apartment complex where Rahmanullah Lakanwal and his family reportedly lived in Bellingham, Washington
REUTERS
Lakanwal shot National Guard troops Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, around 2.15 pm on Wednesday.
Ms Beckstrom died as a result of her injuries, the US President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
Mr Wolfe remains in a critical condition after being shot multiple times.
Lakanwal’s neighbour said federal agents kicked down the accused gunman’s front door about 16 hours after the attack.
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Lakanwal’s neighbour said federal agents kicked down the accused gunman’s front door about 16 hours after the attack
|REUTERS
The neighbour said: “I heard loud banging on the door and guys yelling ‘FBI’.
“They took everybody out of the apartment but I don’t think the kids were there.
“It’s pretty shocking. Every sign in the world is pointing [to Lakanwal being the shooter] but there are some things that just aren’t adding up.
“One thing that stuck out to us was that law enforcement didn’t show up until 16, 17 hours after it happened.
“It’s hard to [know why he did it] because you don’t know his mindset. You know if he just snapped.”
Lakanwal was today charged with murder in the first degree after Sarah Beckstrom died of her injuries
|REUTERS
US Attorney for Washington DC, Jeanine Pirro, said the initial charges against Lakanwal will now be upgraded to murder in the first degree following Ms Beckstrom’s death.
He was originally charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
She told Fox and Friends: “It is a premeditated murder. There was an ambush with a gun toward people who didn't know what was coming.
“And that is the homicide, and that is the murder that we're looking at right now.”
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