Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old specialist with the West Virginia Army National Guard, has died from injuries sustained in a shooting in Washington, D.C., Gov. Patrick Morrisey confirmed. President Trump announced her death during a Thanksgiving call with service members and said the second wounded service member, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains critically ill. The White House said the president spoke with Beckstrom’s parents Thursday evening.
Beckstrom was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, and was from Summersville, W.Va. Wolfe, from Martinsburg, W.Va., serves with the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard. Both had been deployed to Washington as part of a troop presence that began in August.
The shooting occurred in the afternoon while the two Guardsmen were on patrol a few blocks from the White House. Metropolitan Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said a man rounded a corner and opened fire; nearby Guard members subdued the suspect, who was shot and taken into custody. Police have not said who fired the shots that wounded the suspect. Both Beckstrom and Wolfe were transported to a hospital, underwent surgery and were initially reported in critical condition.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro identified the alleged shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who reportedly drove across the country from his home in Washington state. Pirro said prosecutors believe the attacker used a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver in what they are treating as a “targeted attack” and will file terrorism charges. If either of the victims dies, prosecutors said they will seek life in prison or the death penalty. The suspect has also been hospitalized.
FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators are conducting a coast-to-coast probe, executing search warrants at locations including the suspect’s residence in Bellingham, Wash., and a site in San Diego, while pursuing leads overseas. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021 and was admitted because of prior work with U.S. government entities, including the CIA. The Department of Homeland Security said the suspect came to the United States under Operation Allies Welcome, the program that allowed many Afghans to enter the country on two-year humanitarian parole after the Taliban takeover; those entrants later had to pursue other immigration pathways.
Nonprofit AfghanEvac reported that Lakanwal had served in an Afghan elite counterterrorism unit that worked with U.S. intelligence and military partners. Authorities have not established a motive.
President Trump called the incident “an act of terror” in a video and said the administration must re-examine all Afghan entrants and remove anyone who “does not belong here.” Hours after the attack, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it had temporarily halted processing immigration applications from Afghan nationals pending a security and vetting review.
Following the shooting, the president ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later confirmed the request. More than 2,000 Guard personnel from multiple states, including West Virginia, have been in the capital since August after presidential orders tied to public safety concerns. Those deployments have been controversial and faced legal challenges; last week a federal judge called the troop use in D.C. unlawful and issued a preliminary injunction that had not yet taken effect as the administration prepared to appeal.
City and federal officials characterized the incident as a targeted assault. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack as targeted, and Prosecutor Pirro said it was a direct challenge to law and order in the capital. Gov. Morrisey praised Beckstrom’s service, saying she “answered the call to serve” and exemplified the best of the West Virginia National Guard.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities execute additional search warrants and gather evidence. The situation remains under active review.