President Trump announced yesterday that West Virginia National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died from the injuries she sustained in a targeted shooting near the White House. In remarks captured on video, Trump blamed the previous administration for allowing the suspected gunman into the country, calling them “such a bad administration,” and described Beckstrom as a “highly respected” young service member with a “magnificent” record. Her father told the New York Times she was unlikely to recover, saying, “She has a mortal wound.”
A second Guardsman, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition and is “fighting for his life,” Trump said. Both soldiers were part of a West Virginia National Guard deployment sent to Washington as part of Trump’s crime-fighting mission in the capital. Investigators are examining the actions and possible motive of the suspect, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was wounded by a third Guard member at the scene and remains hospitalized.
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