Suspect in National Guard attack struggled with ‘dark isolation’ as community raised concerns

(AP) - The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks from the White House had been unraveling for years, unable to hold a job and flipping between long, lightless stretches of isolation and taking sudden weekslong cross-country drives. Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s behavior deteriorated so sharply that a community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, fearing he was becoming suicidal.

This photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, shows National Guard shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal. (U.S. Attorney’s Office via AP)

Emails obtained by The Associated Press reveal mounting warnings about the asylum-seeker whose erratic conduct raised alarms long before the attack that jolted the nation’s capital on Wednesday, the