By Faris Tanyos
Updated on: November 27, 2025 / CBS News
One of two West Virginia National Guard members wounded Wednesday in an ambush-style shooting in Washington, D.C., is “fighting for his life,” President Trump said Thursday, after announcing the other Guard member had died.
Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday evening that 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died in the hospital. “Right now I heard that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023, outstanding in every way, she has just passed away,” Mr. Trump said. The West Virginia National Guard confirmed she died at MedStar Washington Hospital “as a result of wounds incurred during the shooting.” A White House official said the president spoke with Beckstrom’s parents Thursday evening.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said the second victim, 24-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, was in critical condition after undergoing surgery. Mr. Trump said Wolfe is “fighting for his life, he’s in very bad shape,” and added, “Hopefully, we’ll get better news in respect to him.”
Mr. Trump also said the suspect in the shooting, previously identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was in serious condition.
Pirro said both Guard members had been sworn into Guard duty less than 24 hours before the attack. The National Guard’s joint task force for the district later clarified the two had been serving in the district since August and had been deputized before the attack to maintain their status to conduct patrols. Multiple sources told CBS News the guardsmen were not operating as law enforcement and did not have arrest powers.
Beckstrom, from Summersville, West Virginia, had served in the Guard since June 2023 and graduated from Webster County High School in 2023. She had volunteered for the Trump administration’s D.C. National Guard deployment and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade. The West Virginia National Guard called her loss “profound,” and Col. Larry Doane, commander of the Joint Task Force District of Columbia, called her “a hero.”
Wolfe, from Martinsburg, West Virginia, has served in the Guard since February 2019 and was assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing. He graduated from Musselman High School in 2019; his principal described him as “an active, engaged, and high-achieving student.”
Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.
