Alleged DC Shooter Pleads Not Guilty

A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and assault charges during his first appearance before a judge via video from a hospital bed. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who was also shot, faces charges stemming from the Nov. 26 shooting that killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. His attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during a brief court hearing in Washington, DC, the AP reports.

• Authorities are investigating a possible motive for what they describe as an ambush-style attack. A prosecutor, Ariel Dean, described the shooting as a "shocking crime" and said it appears that Lakanwal "traversed the city to some extent" before approaching the troops and shooting them. In a charging document released Tuesday, prosecutors said he screamed "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire, CNN reports.

• The magistrate judge ordered him detained without bond before trial, citing the "sheer terror that resulted" from Lakanwal's actions. His next court date is in January.
• CNN reports that DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro was in the front row of the courtroom during the hearing. Asked about the death penalty afterward, she said, "That is a very weighty decision, That is a decision that comes later in time. That is one that ultimately one that the attorney general will make."
• Lakanwal entered the US in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that resettled Afghans after the US withdrawal from the country, officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement. He was reportedly "unraveling" for years before the attack.
• Trump called the shooting a "terrorist attack" and criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with US. forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the US.