JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The FBI continues to investigate last week's shooting in downtown Washington, D.C., that left one guardsman dead and critically wounded another. The alleged gunman, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan, was wounded in the exchange of gunfire and is still hospitalized. NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman has been covering this, and he joins us now. Hi there.
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: So Tom, I understand the FBI is talking with family and friends of the alleged shooter. Any sense at this point of a motive?
BOWMAN: You know, we don't have a sense of a motive now, and all we have so far is an interview with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was on NBC's "Meet The Press," and she was convinced of a motive. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MEET THE PRESS")
KRISTI NOEM: But I will say, we believe he was radicalized since he's been here in this country. We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we're going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members, talk to them. So far, we've had some participation, but anyone who has information on this needs to know that we will be coming after you and we will bring you to justice.
BOWMAN: But Secretary Noem provided no evidence as far as radicalization. And again, she said, they're still talking to family members, others in the community. We know the FBI said it seized laptops and phones from his home. He lived with his wife and five children in Bellingham, Washington, north of Seattle. The U.S. attorney's office said as soon as he's medically able, he'll appear in federal court.
SUMMERS: You noted that he worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. What did he do?
BOWMAN: Well, he was a member of a paramilitary group called Zero Unit that operated out of the southern city of Kandahar, working with U.S. forces as well as the CIA. They were headquartered in a compound once owned by the Taliban's leader, Mullah Omar. Now, this Zero Unit was a highly select group that would mount night raids, go after Taliban fighters. They were pretty brutal, and there were reports from Human Rights Watch that they engaged in torture and also illegal killings.
SUMMERS: I know that you spent a lot of time in Kandahar, Tom. What kind of reputation did these units have?
BOWMAN: Well, again, some of the U.S. military I spoke with back around that time, let's say 2011 through 2015, they would say, hey, the units are tough, but their work helps protect American troops. I remember talking with one paramilitary leader around this time in Kandahar, General Abdul Raziq. He was particularly brutal, according to reports by the U.N. and Human Rights Watch. And some of these analysts and American lawmakers, also, you know, some military officers I spoke with, they sharply criticize him, suggested that U.S. break ties with him, not supply him with any weapons, and he said, that'll never happen.
SUMMERS: Tom, there has been some reporting to suggest that his work with the paramilitary unit took a toll on him and it may have been a contributing factor in the shootings. How so?
BOWMAN: Right. Our colleague Brian Mann spoke with a refugee resettlement volunteer who worked with Lakanwal and the family and spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the story. This volunteer worked with him over the past several years and noticed a deterioration in his mental state. He would sit in his room in the dark. He stopped working. He worked for a time in the food processing industry, also a laundry. He would take long drives as far away as Illinois and Arizona. The concern was more about possible PTSD because of his military work and more worry about self-harm than harming others.
SUMMERS: Last thing, Tom, he was vetted, right? - because there was a suggestion by Trump administration officials that he was not vetted before entering this country.
BOWMAN: No, that does not appear to be the case. He would have been carefully vetted to work with the CIA. And when he came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul in the summer of '21, he would have been vetted again in waystations like Germany or Italy before arriving in Washington Dulles Airport. I was at some of these locations and saw the vetting process myself. And of course, Juana, he was granted asylum just this past April.
SUMMERS: NPR's Tom Bowman, thank you.
BOWMAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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