National Guard members are on the move in Washington DC, trying to make their patrols less predicable in the wake of the ambush that left one soldier dead and another critically wounded.
Small groups of Guard members briskly maneuvered through the city’s downtown on foot on Friday — including just across the street from where suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly brutally gunned down Sarah Beckstrom, 20 and Andrew Wolfe, 24.
Before Wednesday’s shocking attack, Guard members were stationed, often in pairs, at fixed locations including DC’s Metro, main thoroughfares and the National Mall.
“We’ve got to set everything to kind of a higher standard, versus kind of relaxed, you know how it used to be,” one Guardsman, who asked for anonymity, told The Post.
“You had some individuals coming up heckling you [before] . . . And now it’s just kind of always be on alert.”
National Guard patrols are also now being joined with by members of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department, adding firepower and knowledge of the local terrain to the mix.
The Washington Post reported that DC police will accompany Guard troops at least temporarily, in a shift that acknowledges the risks of the status quo.
“Officers will conduct high-visibility patrols with the national guard and provide assistance as needed,” according to an email to DC leadership obtained by the Washington Post.
A spokesman for Joint Task Force – District of Columbia would not confirm the report.
“We are going to maintain our relationship with MPD as they are one of our major law enforcement partners,” the spokesman said. “Due to operational security concerns we’re not going to discuss any potential changes to our security posture.”
“I think it’s a sound thing to do, it just reinforces each other. It just makes it more of a deterrent that they would come after a National Guard officer,” former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker told The Post of changes in how Guard members are deployed.
He pointed to similar ambushes of police officers on US streets.
“You can’t have your gun drawn and pivoting like you’re in a gun fight 24/7. You get eyes in the back of your head, but it’s nearly impossible to stop this from happening if you have someone that’s motivated and you’re on a crowded street,” he added.
President Trump ordered the deployment of an additional 500 National Guard members to DC after the shooting. Two thousand Guard troops were already serving in DC under Trump’s “Safe and Beautiful Task Force.”
