One of the two National Guard members, Sarah Beckstrom, shot near the White House died, while the other soldier was “fighting for his life,” US President Donald Trump said Thursday.
Trump hailed Beckstrom as a “highly respected, young, magnificent person” and said that he had learned of her death shortly before a video call with US troops to mark the Thanksgiving holiday.
“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,” he said.
“The other young man, is fighting for his life. He’s in very bad shape,” Trump added as he addressed the troops.
.@POTUS announces that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia, one of the National Guardsmen savagely attacked yesterday in Washington, D.C., has just passed away.
May God be with her family 🙏 pic.twitter.com/BEbAOxmJme
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 27, 2025
Both Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were critically injured after being shot in an ambush by an Afghan national just blocks away from the White House. Earlier in the day, Beckstrom’s father, Gary Beckstrom, said that her injuries were unsurvivable. “I’m holding her hand right now. She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery,” he told the New York Times.
The FBI searched multiple properties as part of its investigation, including a Washington state home linked to the suspect who officials said served in a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan before arriving in the US in 2021 under a resettlement program, Reuters reported.
Agents seized several electronic devices, including cellphones, laptops and iPads, from the residence of the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, and also interviewed his relatives, FBI Director Kash Patel said at a news conference.
US Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Lakanwal drove cross-country and then ambushed the National Guard soldiers while they were patrolling near the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
