The Afghan national accused in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., was hit with new federal charges that open the door for the death penalty. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that Rahmanullah Lakanwal was charged with transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year and with transporting a stolen firearm in interstate commerce. Sarah Beckstrom was killed in the Nov. 26 attack, while Andrew Wolfe was left seriously injured. 

“The transfer of this case from Superior Court to District Court ensures that we can undertake the serious, deliberate and weighty analysis required to determine if the death penalty is appropriate here,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. 

“Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old when she was killed, and her parents are now forced to endure the holiday season without their daughter,” she added. “Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived but has a long road ahead in his recovery.”

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Lakanwal also “remains charged with first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of the D.C. Code.” 

In an affidavit released this week, an FBI special agent wrote that the weapon Lakanwal allegedly used in the shooting was a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver that was stolen from a home in in Seattle in May 2023. 

The agent said the individual who provided the weapon to Lakanwal on Nov. 14 at his home in Bellingham told investigators “that he gave the firearm to Lakanwal because he believed Lakanwal wanted it for personal protection while working as a rideshare driver.” 

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The day after obtaining the revolver, Lakanwal purchased a box of additional .357 caliber ammunition from a sporting goods store in Bellingham, the affidavit continued.

“Additionally, legal process reveals that on November 15, 2025, approximately two hours after he purchased the ammunition, Lakanwal searched ‘Washington, D.C.’ in Google Maps,” the FBI special agent also wrote in the affidavit. “The next day, Lakanwal searched ‘The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500’ in Google Maps. Of note, the shooting committed by Lakanwal on November 26, 2025, occurred in Washington, D.C., approximately two blocks from the White House.” 

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Attorney General Pam Bondi previously has said the Department of Justice intends to seek the death penalty against Lakanwal. 

Christmas came just about a week early for tenants of 3235 16th St., a five-unit apartment building two blocks from Dolores Park: The San Francisco Community Land Trust officially acquired their building last week, retaining rent-controlled units and dissipating tenants’ fears of displacement.

“It’s really a relief, the stability and the security. Over the years we always thought ‘What if somebody sells our building?’” said Alana Herron, a high school teacher in the Excelsior who has lived in the building for 24 years. “This really means a lot.”

About a dozen tenants live in the building, and many have for decades. Conversations between the San Francisco Community Land Trust, which buys mid-sized buildings and has 17 in its portfolio, and the prior owner, Deborah V. Vanpatten, started this summer. The discussions began after the owner notified the nonprofit that the building would be sold. 

Under the city’s Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, owners of buildings with three or more residential units, or land that can accommodate such numbers, are required to inform qualified nonprofits of their intentions to sell. That guarantees the organizations the right of first refusal on the properties. 

“This has been a lot of work, and it’s been great to see it culminate in knowing that these long-term residents will be able to stay in their home,” said Kyle Smeallie, the policy director for the land trust. 

The building, which dates to 1905, has five residential units and one ground-floor commercial space, the home of Barnets Salon. Smeallie said the residential tenants worried a new owner could find ways to displace them.

“For them to have the feeling that they don’t have to worry about that anymore … that’s a sense of relief that is really palpable,” said Smeallie.

The San Francisco Community Land Trust purchased the building for $1.55 million with loans from the city’s Small Sites Program, which helps nonprofits buy smaller buildings for affordable housing, and the Preservation and Seismic Safety Program, which has money for the same.

The land trust has been growing and, two years ago, received a $20 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. It said at the time it would use the gift to expand as part of a $60 million capital campaign.

“Everyone feels like this was a really fortunate thing that happened,” said another resident, who has lived in the building for over 30 years. The purchase, she said, gave a sense of relief, particularly for the artists and teachers who live alongside her.

“When you talk about preserving teachers and artists we’re kind of a living proof of that,” she said. “That’s who lives here.”

While there has not been an official celebration yet, Herron said she and her husband took it upon themselves to toast the purchase by going out to dinner.

“We’re really grateful,” said Herron. “It is really a gift and we know that.”

Denver set a record-high temperature on Christmas Day, breaking the all-time mark, set in 2005.

High temperatures on Thursday reached 70 degrees at Denver International Airport, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. That bested the 69-degree record set 20 years ago.

The Mile High City has been shattering temperature records this winter amid unseasonably warm conditions.