OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:36 AM – Friday, November 28, 2025
President Donald Trump announced that one of the two U.S. National Guard members from West Virginia who were shot by an Afghan national near the White House has tragically succumbed to her injuries.
In a call with the military on Thursday, Thanksgiving, the President confirmed that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, of Summersville, West Virginia, passed away.
This follows after a 29-year-old gunman from Afghanistan ambushed two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., this week.
Beckstrom, 20, had enlisted in the West Virginia Army National Guard in June 2023. She and fellow Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, were sworn in less than 24 hours before the shooting on Wednesday. This deputization was a formal step to extend their authority for the high-visibility patrol near the White House.
“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. She’s looking down at us right now,” Trump said, explaining that he had heard the news seconds before the call.
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Trump also noted that her devastated “parents were with her” as she passed away in the hospital on Thanksgiving.
“She was savagely attacked, [and now] she’s dead,” the President said. “Incredible person. Outstanding in every single way, in every department.”
President Trump also mentioned that the other Guardsman victim, Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, is still “fighting for his life” in the hospital.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters on Wednesday that he would be sending 500 additional troops to the Capital, per the President’s request. He also made remarks in relation to the depressing news surrounding Beckstrom’s recent passing.
“An American hero, at home with the LORD,” He wrote on X. “RIP, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. May our nation kneel in prayer for her family.”
Becktstrom and Wolfe both belonged to the West Virginia National Guard.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey (R-W.Va.) has since issued a formal proclamation requesting all West Virginians to observe a statewide moment of silence and prayer on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. local time in honor of the two Guardsmen, ordering flags to be flown at half-staff.
The timing on Friday also mirrors the approximate time on Wednesday that the two were attacked.
“These two West Virginia heroes were serving our country and protecting our nation’s capital when they were maliciously attacked,” Morrisey stated. “Their courage and commitment to duty represent the very best of our state. I am asking every West Virginian to pause at 2:15 p.m. on Friday to pray for their families and their fellow service members.”
“The people of West Virginia stand united in condemning this cowardly and evil act,” he added in his statement.
The suspected gunman, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who was flown to the U.S. in September 2021 via the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome.” His asylum request was approved in April this year and he held a green card at the time of the shooting.
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