What to know about the shooting of 2 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.
- Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot in an ambush-style attack in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
- One of the victims, 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, has died, President Trump said Thursday night.
- The second victim, Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was in critical condition after undergoing surgery, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Thursday. Mr. Trump said Wolfe was “fighting for his life.”
- The suspect, who is believed to have acted alone, has been identified by the Trump administration as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021.
- The CIA said Lakanwal previously worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom remembered as “a hero”
In a statement confirming her death Thursday night, the commander of Joint Task Force District of Columbia hailed Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom as “a hero.”
“This is a devastating loss to our National Guard family,” Col. Larry Doane said in a statement. “Spc. Sarah Beckstrom came to the District from West Virginia to make our nation’s capital safe and beautiful. She is a hero and we mourn her passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones and with the West Virginia National Guard.”
Beckstrom enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard in June 2023. She served as a military police soldier with the 863rd Military Police Company.
Second National Guard member shot in D.C. is “fighting for his life,” Trump says
One of two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday is “fighting for his life,” President Trump told reporters Thursday.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is “in very bad shape,” Mr. Trump said. “Hopefully, we’ll get better news in respect to him.”
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Wolfe was in critical condition after undergoing surgery.
The second victim, 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries, Mr. Trump said.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News the two were on patrol outside a downtown D.C. metro station when a gunman opened fire in what the sources described as a “clear ambush” and “calculated attack.”
@CBS News
