Deadly D.C. Shooting Exposes Afghan Vetting Failures After National Guard Troops Targeted

Washington, D.C. was rocked this week by a brutal, targeted attack on two National Guard members, an assault that now raises devastating questions about the Biden-era Afghan resettlement program and the failures that allowed a dangerous individual to slip through the cracks.

On Wednesday morning, West Virginia National Guard soldiers Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were ambushed near Farragut Square just steps from the White House. Officials say the shooter targeted them because they were in uniform, a chilling escalation in a city already struggling with crime and political dysfunction.

Beckstrom tragically died from her injuries. Wolfe remains in critical condition, fighting for his life.

The alleged gunman, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, wasn’t some unknown figure drifting under the radar. He reportedly arrived in the United States in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, the rushed and chaotic Afghan resettlement initiative launched after the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Kabul. Early reports indicate he had worked with U.S. government-connected operations in Afghanistan—yet still managed to cross the country and commit an act of terror in the nation’s capital.

If this is what “rigorous vetting” looks like, Americans have every right to demand answers.

Witnesses say the shooter opened fire without warning before being tackled and disarmed by other National Guard members. He is now in custody facing terrorism and attempted murder charges, with prosecutors signaling the death penalty is on the table, a rare but telling sign of how seriously federal authorities are treating this attack.

The White House confirmed Beckstrom’s death late Thursday. President Trump honored her as a “magnificent person” and vowed full accountability. Security officials simultaneously announced an increase of roughly 500 additional Guard troops in D.C. to prevent similar attacks.

The politics here aren’t subtle. For years, conservatives warned that the Biden evacuation, completed in chaos, with tens of thousands airlifted out in days, would inevitably include individuals who were not properly screened. Washington brushed off those concerns as xenophobic. Now, an American soldier is dead, another clings to life, and the nation is learning the hard way that wishful thinking is not a national security strategy.

Nevada voters should pay attention. The same Democratic lawmakers who championed “compassion first” refugee policies and attacked vetting skeptics as bigots are now scrambling for cover. The consequences of their ideology aren’t abstract, they’re deadly.

And while D.C. reels, Americans are watching a familiar pattern: when Democrats gamble with national security, it’s always our servicemembers and families who pay the price.

Beckstrom deserved better. So did Wolfe. And so did the country they were proudly serving.

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