National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom dies after DC shooting, Trump says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of the two National Guard members shot in what authorities described as a “targeted” ambush near the White House has died, President Donald Trump announced Thursday.
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, served in the West Virginia National Guard. She and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were attacked by a lone gunman Wednesday near a Metro station in the heart of the capital. The two were on a high-visibility patrol roughly two blocks from the White House when the shooting occurred.
The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was shot by another nearby Guard member and taken into custody. He remained hospitalized Thursday. Authorities say Lakanwal, 29, previously worked with a CIA-backed military unit in Kandahar and entered the United States in 2021 under a Biden-era program that allowed Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban to resettle.
Federal officials have not determined a motive for the attack, which they described as targeted. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey called the shooting “an act of unspeakable violence.”
President Trump has ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington. Thousands are already deployed in the city as part of his ongoing immigration and crime crackdown focused on Democratic-led urban areas. Wolfe remains hospitalized as investigations continue.
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