National Guard Member Passes Away After D.C. Shooting As Prosecutors Vow To Seek Death Penalty

A member of the National Guard who was shot blocks from the White House on Wednesday afternoon has died.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries on Thursday after being shot by alleged gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Wolfe, 24, the other soldier shot in the attack, is still “fighting for his life”, Donald Trump told service members during a Thanksgiving call.

“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, a highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023, outstanding in every way. She’s just passed away,” Trump said.

“She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. She was savagely attacked, she’s dead now.”

He said that Wolfe “is in very bad shape”, adding, “Hopefully, we'll get better news with respect to him.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that Beckstrom had volunteered to work on Thanksgiving.

West Virginia National Guard paid tribute to Beckstrom in a statement on social media, saying she enlisted in 2023 and volunteered to deploy to D.C.

“On behalf of Governor Patrick Morrisey and the entire West Virginia National Guard, I extend my deepest condolences to Spc. Beckstrom’s family, friends, and fellow Guardsmen. We grieve alongside them and honor her memory by carrying forward her commitment to service, integrity, and excellence.” said Maj. Gen. Jim Seward, the Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard.

Trump confirmed that Lakanwal, who entered the country under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome program in 2021, is in serious condition in the hospital after being shot by returning gunfire.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said that prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Lakanwal, 29, who once worked alongside the CIA in Afghanistan.

“I will tell you early, we will do everything in our power to seek the death penalty against that monster who should not have been in our country,” Bondi told Fox & Friends.

Lakanwal, a GPS-tracking specialist, previously worked with the U.S. government as a member of a partner force – the Kandahar Strike Force – described as being part of CIA-backed Zero Units.

According to the New York Times, Zero Units carried out counter-terrorism operations, including night raids and targeted operations during the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

In the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Lakanwal’s unit was reportedly moved from their base in Kandahar to the capital, where they helped guard the Kabul International Airport as thousands evacuated.

As Kabul fell to the Taliban, Lakanwal was evacuated under a U.S.-led programme, with his record of collaboration the basis for his entry to the U.S.

Lakanwal, who lived in Washington State with his wife and five children, was granted asylum this year under the Trump administration, according to CBS.

In the wake of the attack, all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals have now been stopped, effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement.

“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” the statement read.

Trump has also announced he will permanently pause migration from all third-world countries and “terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions.”

The president did not provide a list of those countries or any further details.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”

The U.S. is also reviewing all green cards issued to migrants from 19 countries it has called countries of “concern.”

Head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said in a statement on X, “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.

“The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies. American safety is non-negotiable.”

When asked what green cards would be re-examined, the agency pointed the BBC to a proclamation Trump signed in June suspending entry of certain foreign nationals from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Venezuela.