Fellow Unit Member Says Alleged D.C. Shooter Felt Abandoned by CIA
The alleged shooter of two National Guard members, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was struggling with mental illness, his ability to support his family, and, according to an Afghan veteran who fought with him, his pleas for help to the CIA went unanswered.
Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, served in a CIA-backed Afghan force unit, known as the “Zero Units,” in Kandahar. He is facing first-degree murder charges after Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of her injuries following the Wednesday shooting near the Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.
Investigators are still working to establish a motive for the attack. Rolling Stone spoke to a former Afghan unit mate who pointed to financial pressure and ongoing apparent mental illness as a contributing factor. He also seems to have felt abandoned by the United States government.
“He’s very sad [depressed],” said Lakanwal’s Afghan unit mate, who is not a native English speaker. “He’s very worried. This problem, like, he’d say, ‘I am working nine years or 10 years with [the] U.S. government. [They] never answer my phone [call].’”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/alleged-dc-national-guard-shooter-felt-abandoned-cia-1235474835/