"Trump Announces Death of National Guard Member, Wounds Another in D.C. Ambush-Style Shooting"
In a somber address to reporters on Thursday, President Trump confirmed that one of the two West Virginia National Guard members wounded in an ambush-style shooting in Washington, D.C., has died. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was pronounced dead at MedStar Washington Hospital after suffering wounds during the attack.
Trump expressed his condolences to Beckstrom's family and described her as a "highly respected, young, magnificent person" who had just begun her service in June 2023. The President also stated that Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is fighting for his life after undergoing surgery. Trump's comments came hours after U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro confirmed Wolfe's critical condition.
The shooting occurred in an ambush-style attack, with authorities describing it as such. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is currently in serious condition.
According to the National Guard's joint task force for the district, both Beckstrom and Wolfe had been sworn into duty less than 24 hours before the attack, serving in the district since August. They were deputized to maintain their status to conduct patrols but did not have arrest powers.
Beckstrom, a volunteer from Summersville, West Virginia, had served in the Guard since June 2023 and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade at the time of the shooting. Her death has been met with an outpouring of condolences from across the National Guard family.
Wolfe, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, has served in the National Guard since February 2019 and was assigned to Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing. He graduated from Musselman High School in 2019 and was described by his principal as "an active, engaged, and high-achieving student."
As the investigation into the shooting continues, Trump announced that he spoke with Beckstrom's parents on Thursday evening. The President expressed hopes for improved news regarding Wolfe's condition, saying "hopefully we'll get better news in respect to him."
In a somber address to reporters on Thursday, President Trump confirmed that one of the two West Virginia National Guard members wounded in an ambush-style shooting in Washington, D.C., has died. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was pronounced dead at MedStar Washington Hospital after suffering wounds during the attack.
Trump expressed his condolences to Beckstrom's family and described her as a "highly respected, young, magnificent person" who had just begun her service in June 2023. The President also stated that Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is fighting for his life after undergoing surgery. Trump's comments came hours after U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro confirmed Wolfe's critical condition.
The shooting occurred in an ambush-style attack, with authorities describing it as such. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is currently in serious condition.
According to the National Guard's joint task force for the district, both Beckstrom and Wolfe had been sworn into duty less than 24 hours before the attack, serving in the district since August. They were deputized to maintain their status to conduct patrols but did not have arrest powers.
Beckstrom, a volunteer from Summersville, West Virginia, had served in the Guard since June 2023 and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade at the time of the shooting. Her death has been met with an outpouring of condolences from across the National Guard family.
Wolfe, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, has served in the National Guard since February 2019 and was assigned to Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing. He graduated from Musselman High School in 2019 and was described by his principal as "an active, engaged, and high-achieving student."
As the investigation into the shooting continues, Trump announced that he spoke with Beckstrom's parents on Thursday evening. The President expressed hopes for improved news regarding Wolfe's condition, saying "hopefully we'll get better news in respect to him."
u can just imagine a 20 yr old girl with her whole life ahead of her dying like that 
she was supposed to be patrolling the streets but got caught up in an ambush its not right at all. and now another guy is fighting for his life too it feels like something is seriously wrong with this country
u can't even make up a story like this, especially when these guys were just trying to do their job. and trump is still going on with his campaign vibes, it's like he's not taking this seriously at all 
what's the deal? didn't we learn anything from sandy hook or virginia tech? these kids are barely out of high school and they're already facing this kinda danger. it's just so frustrating 
and poor air force staff Sgt. andrew wolfe fighting for his life too... this is just terrible news coming from washington d.c. 
what's going on with these attacks? and how did we even have to find out about this from the president himself? shouldn't there be better communication channels in place? 
anyway my heart goes out to sarah's family and friends and also to Andrew's loved ones... prayers for their recovery 
this is so senseless 
its just not right people losing their lives like this always wondering why it happens its like the world is just getting more crazy and senseless 
anyway so the president thinks she was 'magnificent' but like shouldn't that be said after her actual accomplishments not after she got shot 
Beckstrom was literally sworn in 24 hours ago btw what's the protocol here? do you just get ambushed and die or is this supposed to be some sort of training exercise 
at least Wolfe is still alive so fingers crossed for that guy 
and you've got a president making it about himself. trump's always good at stirring the pot but this is somethin else. 20 years old, just startin' out her career and now she's dead... it don't add up. gotta be more to this than meets the eye. also what's with all these ambush-style shootings lately? seems like we're in some kinda state of emergency here 
. I mean, can you believe that two young men were just starting their service in DC and were caught in the crossfire? It's like our national security protocols are not doing enough to protect our citizens 
. Trump saying he spoke with Beckstrom's parents is a good start, but we need more concrete action on addressing this issue 
. The fact that Beckstrom was pronounced dead just 24 hours after starting her service is absolutely unacceptable 
. We need systemic changes, not just empty condolences from the President 
.
. I'm trying not to think about the what-ifs - what if the guard had more resources? What if they were better equipped to handle situations like this? 
Can't believe this is happening to our young people. They're just trying to serve their country and make a difference, not expecting to become victims of such senseless violence 
Trump's words are nice, but what's going to change for us to prevent these types of incidents from happening in the future? We need more than just condolences, we need action 
.
. And the fact that they were just new recruits, starting their service so recently... it's just heartbreaking 
. My thoughts are with Sarah's family & Andrew's loved ones 
... RIP, Sarah 
can't believe she's gone too soon 
