President Donald Trump announced that one of the two members of the National Guard shot in Washington, D.C. on November 26th has died. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries, while 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The two soldiers were shot at close range near Farragut Square on Wednesday afternoon. Police arrested the suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who arrived in the U.S. in 2021. The FBI has launched an international terror investigation.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were among more than 2,000 troops deployed to the capital as part of the administration’s effort to address rising crime. Trump confirmed Beckstrom’s death during a Thanksgiving call and later spoke with her parents. Beckstrom had enlisted in 2023 and volunteered to work in DC over the holiday.
During the Thanksgiving video call with U.S. troops the President said:
[BQ] I want to express the anguish and the horror of our entire nation at the terrorist attack yesterday in our nation’s capital.
Authorities say Lakanwal will face multiple charges, including assault with intent to kill. If Wolfe does not survive, the charges may be upgraded to first-degree murder. Bondi said prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Lakanwal arrived under Operation Allies Welcome after working with a CIA counterterrorism unit in Afghanistan in 2021. He recently received asylum. Officials have now ordered a review of green cards issued to immigrants from “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan.
President Trump later stated, on November 27th, that he would suspend migration from the “third world countries”. He also said to reverse millions of admissions granted under Biden, and to “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States.”
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” Trump wrote on social media.
