Two National Guard members were shot at close range while on a high-visibility patrol in central Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon (November 26), just a few blocks from the White House. One of them, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom from West Virginia, died after emergency surgery, President Donald Trump confirmed during a Thanksgiving call with U.S. service members on Thursday. “She’s just passed away,” Trump told the US service members. “She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her.”
Who Was Sarah Beckstrom?
Sarah Beckstrom, from Summersville, West Virginia, joined the National Guard on June 6, 2023. She was part of the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia Army National Guard, according to The New York Times. The West Virginia National Guard sent hundreds of troops to Washington as part of Trump’s crime-fighting efforts in the capital. Beckstrom had volunteered to serve in the city over the Thanksgiving holiday, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News after the shooting.
Beckstrom, along with Wolfe, had been stationed in Washington, D.C., since August, following President Trump’s order to deploy the National Guard as part of his crackdown on “out of control crime.” The young Army Specialist was one of over 2,000 troops who had been on duty in the capital for several months.
President Trump calls incident ‘Terrorist attack’
Since the shooting came to light, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been identified as the suspect in the attack. President Donald Trump has called the incident a “terrorist attack” and criticized the Joe Biden administration, noting that Lakanwal entered the country in 2021 through Trump’s program, Operation Allies Welcome.
The other victim, 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, is still in critical condition in the hospital. Both service members were shot at close range.
