National Guard Shooting in D.C.

One member of the West Virginia National Guard is dead and another is fighting for his life after an attack in Washington, DC the day before Thanksgiving. The alleged shooter has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who previously worked alongside the CIA in-country before evacuating and seeking asylum in the U.S. Lakanwal has been living in Washington state and is accused of launching a surprise attack on National Guard members serving in Washington, DC. Twenty-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died from her wounds on Thanksgiving Day and 24-year-old Staff Sargeant Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition but has shown recent signs of improvement.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Two innocent young people serving their country were tragically gunned down. That is the reality of this story. There are many competing narratives aimed at pointing blame in one direction or another, but the most important point for The Equipped community is to acknowledge those who have been harmed and are grieving, and to look for ways to come to their aid.

We should be praying for the Beckstrom family and looking for ways to comfort them in their time of great loss. We should be praying for the recovery of Staff Sargeant Wolfe and seeking out ways to lend support to the Wolfe family. These are the primary ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus. How can we stand with the families of two innocent young people gunned down while serving their country?

As for what we should learn from this story, there are many factors and, per usual, you will only be able to fully consider them if you first set aside a political lens and intentionally choose to consider all components of the story. Lakanwal is one of approximately 190,000 Afghanis who came to the U.S. after the controversial U.S. withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021. His entry into the U.S. was authorized during the Biden administration and his asylum application was approved during the current Trump administration. According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he was radicalized after settling in the U.S. and there are numerous reports he was increasingly isolated and unstable. There are several reports of friends and community members expressing concern for his wellbeing in recent months. In this last regard, his profile is eerily similar to that of other recent violent offenders.

There are several high-profile public policy decisions that must be made in the wake of this attack. Should entry into the U.S. by Afghan nationals be subject to higher scrutiny? How should the asylum process balance the legitimate needs of those fleeing persecution with the inherent risk of radicalization?

Maybe most pertinent for our community here at The Equipped, how can we speak life and flourishing into a generation of young people increasingly prone to radicalization?

That last point is perhaps most important because, a) Even in a world of perfect public policy, we live in a fallen world, and b) We have the answer troubled souls are looking for! His name is Jesus, and we are the way in which He is introduced to those who don’t know Him.

Pray for the Beckstrom and Wolfe families. As you do so, consider how to be the vessel through which lost and troubled souls find rest and restoration in their Savior.

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Heb 6:19).