National Guard member dies after shooting in Washington DC

One of two National Guard members shot in Washington on Wednesday has died, US President Donald Trump said.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries, President Trump said Thursday evening.

A second National Guard member, Andrew Wolf, 24, is “fighting for his life,” he said.

Both were shot at close range near Farragut Square in the city center just after 2:00 pm EST (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Police have arrested one suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwala, a 29-year-old from Afghanistan.

President Trump confirmed Ms. Beckstrom's death during a call with U.S. military personnel on Thanksgiving Day.

“Sarah Beckstrom from West Virginia, one of the guardsmen we're talking about, a very respected, young, great person… She just passed away. She is no longer with us,” he said.

Trump later spoke with her parents, a White House spokesman told BBC US affiliate CBS News.

Ms. Beckstrom enlisted on June 26, 2023 and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, West Virginia Army National Guard.

She volunteered to work in the nation's capital during the American Thanksgiving holiday, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News after the shooting.

Jim Justice, a Republican senator from West Virginia, said he was “absolutely devastated” to learn of Ms. Beckstrom's passing.

“We are praying for her family, friends and fellow Guard members during this incredibly difficult Thanksgiving,” he said in a statement.

“We are also praying for Andrew Wolfe as he continues on his road to recovery.”

Both troopers were on high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th and I streets, an area where many office workers hang out on their lunch breaks.

More than 2,000 troops have been guarding the nation's capital since August, when the president began sending troops into cities to combat what he called “out of control” crime.

Ms Beckstrom and Mr Wolf were among those deployed in August, the West Virginia National Guard confirmed to BBC News.

National Guard troops are reservist forces that can be deployed as military troops but have limited powers because they cannot enforce the law or make arrests.

The location of the shooting, just a few blocks from the White House, meant that multiple law enforcement officers were quickly on the scene to treat the two victims and apprehend the gunman.

During the arrest, the suspect was shot four times, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

Officials said Mr. Lakanwal came to the United States from Afghanistan in 2021.

He will be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a violent crime, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Thursday morning at a news conference before news of Ms. Beckstrom's death.

“We pray that they survive and that the most severe charge is not first-degree murder,” Pirro added. “But make no mistake, if they don't do this, it will certainly be a charge: first-degree murder.”

Attorney General Bondi told Fox News on Thursday that her office would seek the death penalty for the suspect, calling him “a monster who should never have existed in our country.”

Mr. Lakanwal reportedly came to the U.S. as part of a program called Operation Allies Welcome, which offered special immigration protections to Afghans following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

He helped guard US troops at Kabul airport in 2021 as thousands tried to flee Afghanistan before the Taliban took power, a former military commander who served with him told the BBC's Afghan service.

The suspect was recruited into Unit 03 of the Kandahar Strike Force. His unit was known locally as the Scorpio Force, operating initially under the direction of the CIA and later as part of the Afghan intelligence agency known as the National Directorate of Security.

Mr Lakanwal was an expert in GPS trackers, a former commander told the BBC, calling him a “sporty and fun-loving character”.

His entire unit was transferred from Kandahar to Kabul five days before the Taliban entered the capital. They continued to guard the airport for another six days before they too were airlifted to the United States.

At a news conference Thursday morning, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Mr. Lakanwala's connection to U.S. forces, saying the suspect “had relationships in Afghanistan with partner forces” before moving to the United States.

Mr. Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024 and his application was granted earlier this year, an official told CBS.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Commissioner Joseph Edlow said Thursday that the president has directed him to conduct a “full and thorough re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern.”

When asked by the BBC which countries were included in the list, the agency pointed to a June statement from the White House these included Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela.

Hafizullah Maroof and Syed Abdullah Nizami of BBC Afghanistan contributed to this report.