Federal prosecutors have added eight new counts against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of killing one National Guard member and wounding another in Washington, D.C. The charges make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Prosecutors filed the superseding indictment on Tuesday. It includes murder of a person assisting a U.S. officer and discharging a firearm during a violent crime that causes death. A federal grand jury separately determined that Lakanwal intentionally killed Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and tried to kill multiple people.
The Justice Department said its Capital Case Committee will review whether to seek capital punishment. Lakanwal, an Afghan national, pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing the same day.
He is accused of ambushing members of the West Virginia National Guard last November near the White House. Beckstrom died and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was critically wounded. Two other service members later subdued him.
Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome after working with U.S. forces, including the CIA, in Afghanistan.
