The Afghan refugee who is the main accused in the shooting of two members of the US National Guard had lived a quiet family life in Bellingham in Washington state.
Ramanullah Lakanwal, 29, lived in a $2000 rented apartment along with his wife and five children, according to his neighbours. They said that he was often seen playing Call of Duty and FIFA inside the bare apartment and that they “never made a peep”. The neighbours also reported that the family did not have beds or furnishing inside the sparse apartment except for a few cushions which they used to sleep on.
One neighbour who spoke to the New York Post said that Lakanwal did not speak much English. His oldest child is 14.
The neighbour said Bellingham is very liberal and that the area which housed the Afghan refugees was, "very welcoming, very diverse, very open."
Lakanwal, who once worked with the CIA, had come to the US during the Biden era under the Operation Allies Welcome program in September 2021, which gave some Afghans who worked for the US government, entry visas. He was granted asylum in April this year under the Trump administration, Reuters reported.
The CIA also confirmed that he worked with their military units during the US war in Afghanistan, helping guard US forces at Kabul airport as thousands fled the country before it fell to the Taliban. A former military commander who served alongside him described him as a "sporty and jolly character" to the BBC.
Lakanwal’s cousin, who spoke to the Associated Press, said he was originally from the Khost province.
He is also facing at least three counts of assault with intent to kill and criminal possession of a weapon.
On Wednesday, Lankanwal allegedly shot two National Guard troops just a few blocks away from the white house with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died after succumbing to her injuries. Andrew Wolfe was critically injured. Beckstrom
Lakanwal was also left with gunshot wounds in the melee that followed.
About 16 hours later, the FBI busted through the gunman's front door. neighbours recalled that they took everybody out of the apartemnt but his kids were not there. "They took everybody out of the apartment but I don’t think the kids were there. It’s pretty shocking. Every sign in the world is pointing (to Lakanwal being the shooter) but there are some things that just aren’t adding up,” the neighbour said.
One local recalled that they heard loud banging on the door and people yelling FBI. “One thing that stuck out to us was that law enforcement didn’t show up until 16, 17 hours after it happened. It’s hard to (know why he did it) because you don’t know his mindset. You know if he just snapped,” they said.
The motive behind the shooting is still unknown. Officials said that Lakanwal drove thousands of miles across the country before the attack.
