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Authorities say the man accused of ambushing two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday drove across the country to carry out the attack. The alleged shooter was living in Bellingham, a small city in Washington state known for its tranquility and surrounding lush forests. The suspect faces charges including first-degree murder. Kyle Norris with member station KUOW reports from Bellingham.
KYLE NORRIS, BYLINE: This quiet college town's unofficial slogan is, the city of subdued excitement. But things were not quiet in downtown Bellingham on Thanksgiving Day. That's when authorities executed search warrants at the apartment complex where 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal lived with his wife and children. He's the Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. One died of her injuries. But by Friday, there were no more police - just a few reporters outside the building. Down the street at the Ruckus Room Arcade, manager Lydia Aislinn (ph) was opening up shop.
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NORRIS: She had heard about the shooting in D.C., but she didn't realize the suspect lived a few blocks away. She says the shooter could have been from anywhere.
LYDIA AISLINN: I'm saddened to see it's someone from Bellingham. But whenever you watch anything like this, so many people say, I was surprised it was my little town, where I'm like, this could be any person.
NORRIS: Since the fall of Kabul in 2021, about 380 Afghan refugees resettled in Whatcom County, where Bellingham is. That's according to World Relief Western Washington, a Christian humanitarian group. Natalia Villalobos (ph) also works at the arcade. She says she hopes this shooting doesn't harm folks from Afghanistan.
NATALIA VILLALOBOS: I really hope this doesn't impact the country, nor its people. Just because he was from there does not mean everyone from there is, like, a hatred-filled person.
NORRIS: Lakanwal entered the U.S. under a humanitarian program through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He served in one of Afghanistan's elite counterterrorism units operated by the CIA. The shooting investigation is still underway.
For NPR News, I'm Kyle Norris in Bellingham, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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