Washington DC - The man suspected of ambushing and shooting two National Guard members in Washington DC on Wednesday will now face upgraded charges of first-degree murder.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly shot two National Guard members on Wednesday, critically wounding 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe and killing 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom mere blocks from the White House.

President Donald Trump announced Beckstrom's death on Thursday, and has taken sweeping steps to target Afghan immigrants in the aftermath. He clarified that Wolfe was still fighting for his life in hospital.

As a result of Beckstrom's death, Lakanwal's charges have now been upgraded to include first-degree murder, which could see him face the death penalty.

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"There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree," US Attorney for DC Janine Pirro told Fox & Friends.

"What happened at that crime is unmistakable. It is a premeditated murder," Pirro said. "There was an ambush with a gun toward people who didn’t know it was coming."

"To be gunned down on the streets on the nation's holiday is an outrage – and the individual who did this will pay the ultimate price."

Lakanwal had a history with the US army, serving alongside troops in Afghanistan. He was granted asylum in 2025 by the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has latched onto the shooting as an opportunity to attack Afghan migrants and other minority groups. He has threatened to ban migration from what he called "Third World Countries."

Trump has also tried to point the blame at the Biden administration, even though it was his own administration that approved Lakanwal's asylum application in the first place.