Sarah Beckstrom, one of the national guard troops shot in Washington DC on Wednesday, has died, Donald Trump said on Thursday.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person … She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us,” Trump said in his first live remarks since the shooting.
Beckstrom, 20, was one of two members of the national guards shot near the White House in a targeted attack. The other member, Andrew Wolfe, 24, is still fighting for his life, according to the president.
Beckstrom’s father had told the New York Times in a phone call earlier in the day that his daughter was unlikely to recover. “I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom said. “She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”
Both Beckstrom and Wolfe had both been sworn into service less than 24 hours before they were ambushed.
Authorities have identified the suspect in the attack as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29.
Lakanwal came to the US in September 2021 from his native Afghanistan under a program that gave some Afghans who had worked for the US government entry visas to the US. He was granted asylum in April this year, under the Trump administration, Reuters reported. Lakanwal worked with CIA-backed military units during the US war in Afghanistan, the CIA has confirmed.
Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for Washington DC, said at a news conference Thursday that Lakanwal would be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. However, if the national guard members did not survive, Pirro said, the charges could be increased to murder in the first degree.
