A leading national refugee agency was warned multiple times that the Afghan terror suspect accused of murdering one National Guard member and critically injuring another was spiraling into mania and mental illness beginning in 2023, according to a bombshell email leak.
Despite this, and an alleged failure to maintain his mandated contact with state social services, he still managed to win asylum in April of this year.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal‘s behavior was so disturbing that a local community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, according to emails to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) seen by the Associated Press.
“Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father, and provider since March of last year [2023]. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly,” the community member wrote in January 2024.
The community member said he feared that Lakanwal had become suicidal.
The 29-year-old Afghan refugee, who worked in the CIA-backed Zero Unit in the Afghan Army, has been charged with first-degree murder over the death of West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and the shooting of Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, on Thanksgiving eve in Washington, DC.
He was brought to the US in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, moving to Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and their five young sons.
But he reportedly struggled to assimilate, failed to hold down a steady job or commit to learning English, according to the emails.
Alternating between “periods of dark isolation and reckless travel,” Lakanwal sometimes spent weeks in his “darkened room, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife or older kids,” the person wrote.
During these “manic episodes,” he would reportedly “take off in the family car, and drive nonstop,” the email outlined, leaving for up to two weeks at a time on his own, driving as far as Chicago or Arizona.
Lakanwal also failed to stay in contact with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) as was mandated by the terms of his entry into the US, except for “interim” weeks where he would “do the right things,” according to the emails.
He was so depressed that the community member feared he would harm himself, according to the emails.
When his wife would leave him with the kids for a week while she traveled to visit relatives, his children would go to school unwashed and in dirty clothes without having eaten well, according to the person.
The children’s school raised concerns about his behavior, and the family even faced eviction at one point in 2023 after months of not paying rent.
In response to two emails, the USCRI tried to visit Lakanwal and his family in Bellingham in March 2024, according to the author of the emails.
After they received no updates, they believed that Lakanwal had refused assistance.
It’s unclear whether the community member or USCRI reported the mental distress to immigration authorities or law enforcement.
No motive has yet been given for the shootings of the two National Guard members just blocks from the White House.
Lakanwal reportedly drove from Bellingham to DC earlier this week, before allegedly opening fire on troops at around 2:15 p.m Wednesday.
The USCRI and the Washington State DHSH did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.
