National Guard member dead after ‘brazen’ shooting in D.C.

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One of two National Guard soldiers shot himself Wednesday ambush in Washington, D.C. died, US President Donald Trump announced.

Trump announced the death of Sarah Beckstrom during a call with military personnel from Palm Beach, Florida. Beckstrom, 20, was from West Virginia.

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“She is no longer with us,” Trump said. “It just happened. She was brutally attacked.

“She's dead.”

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The second victim is still in critical condition.

Trump said Beckstrom started with National Guard in June 2023 and called her “outstanding in every way.”

Trump said the second National Guard soldier shot, Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is in critical condition and still fighting for his life.

Thursday press conferenceU.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Beckstrom was shot in the head and chest.

In an appearance on Fox News, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Beckstrom volunteered to work the day she was shot so others could spend Thanksgiving with their families.

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Authorities have launched an investigation into the shooting.

Wolfe and Beckstrom were on duty in Washington for three months before they were shot to death in what officials called a “brazen and targeted” attack.

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The FBI said Thursday it will open a terrorism investigation into the shooting of military personnel who were attacked near the White House.

The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with US troops in Afghanistan during the war against the Taliban, settled in the United States after US troops withdrew from the country when the militant group regained power in 2021.

With Beckstrom's death, Lacanwal will now likely be charged with first-degree murder. He now faces assault with intent to kill the defendants, Pirro said Thursday.

— With files from the Washington Post.

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