Afghan man charged in US National Guard shooting hospitalized
An Afghan man awaiting trial for allegedly shooting two members of the National Guard near the White House has been hospitalized after refusing food, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal pleaded not guilty in December to murder and firearms charges in the November attack which killed one member of the National Guard and seriously wounded the other.
District Judge Amit Mehta said at an emergency court hearing on Thursday that Lakanwal had been admitted to a Washington hospital this week after refusing food and sometimes water.
"As I understand it, Mr Lakanwal's health has deteriorated quite substantially and he is in dire circumstances," the Post quoted Mehta as saying.
Lakanwal entered the United States as part of a resettlement program following the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
He had been part of a CIA-backed "partner force" fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to US officials.
A resident of the western US state of Washington, Lakanwal allegedly drove cross-country to carry out the shooting -- an attack that shocked Americans on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday.
President Donald Trump's administration suspended visas for all Afghan nationals following the attack and froze decisions in all asylum cases.
