When Rahmanullah Lakanwal came to the U.S. from Afghanistan he appeared lively and full of hope, but over the course of years, he slipped into isolation and was prone to taking cross country drives without telling his family, according to a volunteer who worked closely with his family.

Lakanwal, an Afghan national, is accused of shooting two National Guard soldiers on November 26. One of those soldiers, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died from her wounds. On Monday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey described the other guardsman, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, as in “serious” condition.

They said when they first met Lakanwal in 2022 at his home in Bellingham, Wash., he appeared hopeful and outgoing. “He was outside with his kids laughing and playing and having animated conversations with other Afghan men,” they said.

Lakanwal held jobs for brief periods and hosted gatherings at his home, the volunteer said, but by 2023 he began isolating himself and appeared “defeated” by the challenges of finding steady work and adapting to life in the U.S.

“He spends most of his time in his darkened bedroom, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife and older kids,” one email said. “I personally believe that [Mr. Lakanwal] is suffering from both PTSD and from his work with the US military in Afghanistan,” the volunteer wrote, adding that they are “not a healthcare professional.”

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said U.S. officials believe Lakanwal was “radicalized” while living in the U.S.

“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,” Noem said.

“Families were just in my mind abandoned into the community,” the volunteer said.

Before coming to the U.S. in 2021, Lakanwal served in one of Afghanistan’s elite counterterrorism units, according to AfghanEvac, a nonprofit that supports Afghan refugees run by U.S. veterans and others who served in Afghanistan. Lakanwal’s unit was operated by the CIA with direct U.S. intelligence and military support, according to AfghanEvac, and fought the Taliban on behalf of the U.S. government.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement last week that the shooter involved in the attack was admitted into the U.S. “due to his prior work with the U.S. Government, including CIA.”

“I was so shocked that this happened. I asked myself, were there warning signs? No,” the volunteer said.

While the volunteer couldn’t provide insight into Lakanwal’s possible motive for the alleged attack, they were aware of him making long drives like the one that took him to Washington, D.C. last week. Beginning in 2023, Lakanwal would disappear for weeks at a time in the family car, roaming as far as Arizona and Illinois.

“He drives day and night and sends map pins to one of the volunteer sponsors and we can grab photos from Instagram stories, but no other communication. His family generally does not know where he is or when he will be back,” said one of the volunteer group emails written in January 2024.

“We cannot confirm whether or not we have served any specific client without permission from our federal government partners who administered the process for bringing Afghans to the United States beginning in 2021,” the World Relief statement said.

The group added that it “provided services to those [refugees] assigned to use by our governmental partners” and said it is supporting law enforcement in the investigation of Lakanwal’s case.

“You can’t paint with a broad brush this entire community. The vast majority of Afghans who have come here are just good upstanding citizens,” said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who heads the group AfghanEvac.