Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who allegedly shot two National Guard members last year in Washington, D.C., has been hospitalized after he refused to eat food and sometimes declined to drink water ahead of his trial.
The development was revealed by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who presided over an emergency hearing on Thursday. Mehta said the defendant’s “health has deteriorated quite substantially,” adding his health circumstances were “in some sense self-inflicted.”
Attorneys described the suspect’s condition as “dire.” He was admitted to George Washington University Hospital at midnight, according to federal prosecutors. They learned of his health issues from the U.S. Marshals Service two weeks ago.
The Obama-appointed federal judge said he would allow the prosecutors to access Lakanwal’s medical records from the past 24 hours to determine what the next steps in the case should be. The records have been sealed, prosecutors noted.
Lakanwal, an Afghan national, is facing federal charges in connection with the ambush shooting that killed West Virginia Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and wounded West Virginia Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe blocks away from the White House on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving last fall.
The shooter previously pleaded not guilty to the 17-count indictment, which includes a number of murder and firearm charges. He entered his plea twice because new charges were eventually brought as federal prosecutors continued investigating the case.
Lakanwal crossed state lines, traveling from Washington to the nation’s capital by car before committing the shooting. He worked for the CIA in Afghanistan until the U.S. military withdrew from the country in 2021 and entered the United States under the Biden administration.
President Donald Trump blamed his predecessor for admitting thousands of Afghans, including Lakanwal, into the country without properly vetting them.
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Lakanwal could face the death penalty if convicted of Beckstrom’s murder. The Department of Justice has not said whether it will seek capital punishment.
No trial date has been set. The next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16.