(WASHINGTON) — As investigators continue to delve into what may have motivated the suspect in the deadly National Guardsmen shooting last week, a portrait of a life of increasing financial stress and a potential mental health crisis has emerged, sources familiar told ABC News.
Additionally, multiple sources said that investigators are looking into the impact of the recent death of an Afghan commander, who allegedly worked with the suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The death of the commander — whom Lakanwal is said to have revered — had deeply saddened the suspect, sources said.
This may have compounded on Lakanwal’s financial burdens, including not being employed, having an expired work permit and allegedly struggling to pay rent and feed his children, sources said.
Officials said the suspect has a wife and five children. He drove from his residence in Washington state to the nation’s capital prior to the shooting and targeted the Guardsmen, officials said.
A senior law enforcement source told ABC News on Sunday that investigators are looking at everything and are closely examining the role of an apparently deteriorating situation at home.
The FBI, Homeland Security and intelligence officials are also investigating the possibility that the attack was directed by or inspired by international terrorists. But thus far, authorities have not publicly released any specific evidence tying Lakanwal to a terrorist organization and no terror charges have been filed.
The investigation into the deadly shooting is still in its early phases.
Two members of the National Guard were shot and seriously wounded just blocks from the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 26, with one guard dying as a result of her sustained injuries the next day.
President Donald Trump called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” adding, “It was a crime against our entire nation.”
Trump, citing information from the Department of Homeland Security, said the suspect entered the U.S. from Afghanistan in September 2021, and criticized the prior administration of President Joe Biden.
The suspect previously worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, “which ended in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” according to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
He applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted asylum in April, under the Trump administration, according to the sources.
In Afghanistan, the suspect was involved with the Zero Unit, working closely with the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The suspect was a trusted member of that team, which went after U.S. counterterrorism targets, according to sources.
The FBI over the weekend continued to interview family and associates of the suspect and tried to exploit documents and other material obtained through searches of mobile devices, his social media footprint and properties tied to him.
Lakanwal remains hospitalized under heavy guard, sources told ABC News on Sunday.
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