1 of 2 National Guard members wounded in 'targeted shooting' has died, Trump says

[ad_1] President Donald Trump stated Thursday night that U.S. Military Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, one of many two West Virginia Nationwide members wounded in a "focused capturing" close to the White Home on Wednesday, has died.

Trump made the announcement as he made calls to the U.S. navy on Thanksgiving.

Calling Beckstrom, 20, a "extremely revered, younger, magnificent particular person," Trump stated, "She's simply handed away. She's not with us. She's wanting down at us proper now. Her dad and mom are together with her. It is simply occurred."

The opposite wounded Nationwide Guard member, Andrew Wolfe, 24, was in essential situation.

US President Donald Trump participates in a video name with service members from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Seaside, Florida, on November 27, 2025, in the course of the Thanksgiving vacation.

Jim Watson/AFP through Getty Pictures

"The opposite younger man is combating for his life," Trump stated. "He’s in very unhealthy form. He’s combating for his life."

U.S. Legal professional Jeanine Pirro, the highest federal prosecutor for the nation's capital, posted a press release on social media following Trump's announcement.

<img alt="PHOTO: Pictures of National Guard members Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom are displayed at a press conference, after they were shot in Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2025. " class="hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI " data-testid="prism-image" draggable="false" loading="lazy" src="https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/67591404-bfa7-4ac6-8e88-9deb791846fd/national-guard-15-rt-er-251127_1764257954122_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg"/> Footage of Nationwide Guard members Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom are displayed at a press convention with FBI Director Kash Patel, U.S. Legal professional for D.C. Jeanine Pirro and different authorities, after they had been shot in Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2025.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

"Our hearts and prayers exit to the household of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of the Nationwide Guard — a hero who volunteered to serve DC on Thanksgiving for folks she by no means met and gave the last word sacrifice," Pirro stated within the put up. "Could she relaxation in peace. It's now time to avenge her loss of life and safe justice."

Earlier Thursday, federal officers revealed extra particulars concerning the assault and the suspected shooter.

Footage of two Nationwide Guard members who had been shot in Washington, D.C. are displayed at a press convention with FBI Director Kash Patel, lawyer Jeanine Pirro and different authorities in Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2025.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

The capturing happened round 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday close to the Farragut West Metro station.

Pirro stated the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly drove cross-country from Washington state to focus on the guard members.

She stated the suspect, an Afghan nationwide, ambushed the guard members, opening hearth with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver.

"One guardsman is struck, goes down, after which the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman once more. One other guardsman is struck a number of occasions," she stated.

Different Nationwide Guard members shortly responded and helped subdue the suspected shooter after he was shot by a Guard member, she stated.

<img alt="PHOTO: A picture of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who is the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members, is displayed at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2025. " class="hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI " data-testid="prism-image" draggable="false" loading="lazy" src="https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/1d31e213-3e0a-4450-8680-61039572f811/national-guard-3-rt-er-251127_1764253556681_hpMain.jpg"/> An image of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan nationwide who's the suspect within the capturing of two Nationwide Guard members, is displayed at a press convention with FBI Director Kash Patel, lawyer Jeanine Pirro and different authorities, in Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2025.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey went to D.C. Wednesday evening and visited the Guard members within the hospital in a single day, in response to his workplace.

"I’m asking each West Virginian to wish for our two Guardsmen as their households, associates, and neighbors wrestle with this unspeakable tragedy," Morrisey stated in a press release.

The governor additionally met with the president to debate the investigation.

"These details demand a complete investigation so we will convey these accountable to justice. We'll proceed working carefully with federal authorities to get clear solutions," Morrisey stated.

In an interview on Thanksgiving, Morrisey instructed ABC Information' Washington, D.C. affiliate WJLA that the 2 Nationwide Guardsmen shot in Washington Wednesday afternoon had volunteered for his or her mission within the nation's capital.

The governor stated he spoke to President Donald Trump and prime administration officers the evening of the capturing concerning the ongoing investigation.

"They wish to have an entire investigation, and so they wish to unravel this. I feel folks need justice, folks need accountability, and that could be a theme that is shared all through the best ranges of the administration," Morrisey stated. "And I feel everybody's sickened to loss of life by what occurs, however now we now have to point out respect and undergo the judicial course of, uphold the rule of legislation and ensure on the finish, there's accountability for what's been performed."

Morrisey stated the West Virginia Nationwide Guard takes pleasure of their mission in Washington, and that has inspired them to remain voluntarily.

"The guardsmen which might be right here, all of them volunteered for the mission. So I need everybody to know that that there was no directive that, 'Oh, it's essential to do that.' These are those who wished to serve as a result of they know that the mission was good. The mission was simply, if folks step again for a minute and return six months and also you see what had occurred, the place was D.C. standing? After which folks had been working to cut back crime. Nicely, they had been succeeding of their mission. One of many talks I had with the president was about that very level that their mission was succeeding. The guard knew that that was occurring. So that is one thing that issues lots. It is our nation's capital. So folks had been very obsessed with it," Morrisey stated.

Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, commander of the D.C. Nationwide Guard, was emotional as he talked concerning the struggles Beckstrom and Wolfe's households had been dealing with as different Individuals celebrated the Thanksgiving vacation.

"Whatever the end result, we all know that their lives, their household lot, their households, lives are all modified eternally as a result of one particular person determined to do that horrific and evil factor," he stated.

Pirro stated that the suspect can be charged with a number of counts, together with assault with intent to hurt and prison possession of a weapon. She famous that these costs may change relying on the destiny of the wounded guard members.

The suspect's motive remains to be unclear, in response to officers, talking at a information convention.

FBI Director Kash Patel instructed reporters the probe is "ongoing investigation of terrorism."

Investigators searched the suspect's Bellingham, Washington, house and interviewed tenants for extra data, in response to Patel. Patel additionally stated interviews had been going down in San Diego, however declined to supply additional particulars.

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks throughout a press convention with U.S. Legal professional for D.C. Jeanine Pirro and different authorities concerning the capturing of two Nationwide Guard members, in Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2025.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

He famous that the FBI acquired affirmation from the Division of Protection and CIA "that the topic had a relationship in Afghanistan with accomplice forces."

"We're absolutely investigating that facet of his background as properly, to incorporate any identified associates which might be both abroad or right here in the US of America," Patel stated.

Streets are blocked after studies that two Nationwide Guard troopers had been shot close to the White Home, Nov. 26, 2025.

Anthony Peltier/AP

Lakanwal, who Pirro stated had a spouse and 5 kids, got here to the US in 2021 beneath the Biden administration, Homeland Safety Kristi Noem stated in a press release Wednesday night.

He utilized for asylum in 2024 and was granted that standing in April of this 12 months, beneath the Trump administration, in response to three legislation enforcement sources.

"He beforehand labored with the USG, together with CIA, as a member of a accomplice pressure in Kandahar that resulted in 2021 following the withdrawal from Afghanistan," CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated in a press release.

Nationwide Guard members stand in a cordoned-off space with proof markers positioned on the bottom, after two Nationwide Guard members had been shot close to the White Home in Washington, D.C., Nov. 26, 2025.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

"[The suspect] would have been vetted in opposition to labeled and unclassified holdings when he got here right here and as a part of the asylum course of," stated ABC Information contributor John Cohen, former head of intelligence for the Division of Homeland Safety and a former U.S. counterterrorism coordinator.

"He was truly granted asylum beneath the Trump administration ... This does elevate the query whether or not the administration is focusing sufficient on terrorism threats versus civil immigration enforcement."

President Donald Trump and first woman Melania Trump are spending Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago membership in Florida and weren't on the White Home in the course of the time of the incident.

Trump launched a video assertion Wednesday evening calling the capturing an “act of hatred,” and ordering the reexamination of all Afghan immigrants admitted beneath the Biden administration.

He additionally ordered a further 500 Guard troops to be deployed to D.C. Trump deliberate on making a conventional telephone name to members of the navy Thursday evening, but it surely was not instantly identified if he would converse to any Nationwide Guard members.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 26: Members of the U.S. Secret Service responds to a capturing close to the White Home on November 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. In line with studies, two Nationwide Guardsmen from West Virginia had been shot blocks from the White Home. A suspect is being detained at a neighborhood hospital.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Pictures

The Nationwide Guard was deployed to the nation's capital as a part of Trump's federal takeover of town and crime crackdown in August. In line with the newest replace, there have been 2,188 Guard personnel assigned to D.C.

On Tuesday, in the course of the conventional turkey pardoning on the White Home, Trump touted his administration's takeover of D.C. streets. He stated it was "certainly one of our most unsafe locations anyplace in the US. It's now thought-about a completely protected metropolis."

"You could possibly stroll down any avenue in Washington and you are going to be simply positive. And I wish to thank the Nationwide Guard. I wish to thanks for the job you've got performed right here is unbelievable," Trump stated on the occasion.