Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, the suspect accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., had been struggling with his mental health for years after leaving Afghanistan and entering the U.S. According to emails sent by a case worker helping his family in Bellingham, Washington, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
When first meeting in 2022, the case worker described Lakanwal as a gracious host, chatty and charismatic. However, a severe turn in his personality was noticeable in 2024. In an email sent on January 11, 2024, the case worker reported that Lakanwal had not worked in a year and his family had been served an eviction notice for nonpayment of rent. “World Relief volunteers are trying to patch things for that family—but I think the father has mental health issues that are not addressed, and he won’t talk to anyone,” the worker wrote.
In another email sent January 31, 2024, the case worker said Lakanwal had “not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year.” “He spends most of his time for weeks on end in his darkened bedroom, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife and older kids,” the email stated. The email also described “manic episodes for one or two weeks at a time where he will take off in the family car,” alternating with interim periods where he “tries to make amends.” The case worker suspected PTSD from his work with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. According to a former Afghan commando, Lakanwal led a unit of Afghan special forces and worked closely with international troops before the withdrawal, and was left deeply troubled by a close friend’s death in 2024.
Lakanwal passed multiple in-person asylum interviews at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in 2024 and was granted asylum in April 2025. The case worker said DHS nor USCIS ever reached out about the emails, and they don’t believe the government ever saw them or considered them in his asylum process.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rahmanullah-lakanwal-mental-health-case-worker-emails/