Mental health of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is charged with murder, had reportedly been unravelling for years

The suspect in the shooting of two West Virginia national guard soldiers in Washington DC on the eve of Thanksgiving had been struggling with his mental health, sometimes spending “weeks on end” in isolation, as he struggled to assimilate in the years since arriving in the United States, it has emerged.

According to emails obtained by the Associated Press, Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s mental health had been unravelling for years, leaving him unable to hold a job and flipping between long, dark stretches of isolation and taking sudden weeks-long cross-country drives.

The emails reveal mounting warnings about Lakanwal, whose erratic conduct raised alarms long before last week’s attack. His behavior deteriorated so sharply that a community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal. They did not, however, see any indication that Lakanwal would commit violence against another person.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the shooting, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition. Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder. He was shot by another national guard member during the incident and is also hospitalized.

In Afghanistan, Lakanwal worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan army unit known as a Zero Unit. He entered the US in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the chaotic US withdrawal. Many had worked alongside US troops and diplomats.

He resettled in the US with his wife and their five sons, all under the age of 12, in Bellingham, Washington, but struggled to assimilate, according to the community member.

The emails described a man who was unable to hold a steady job or commit to his English courses while he alternated between “periods of dark isolation and reckless travel”. Sometimes, he spent weeks in his “darkened room, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife or older kids”. At one point in 2023, the family faced eviction after months of not paying rent.

In one email sent on 31 January 2024, a case worker said Lakanwal had “not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023”.

The case worker, who supported many Afghan families and spoke to Lakanwal through an interpreter, described him as a very gracious host, chatty and charismatic to CBS News, adding that a severe turn in his personality was noticeable in 2024.