Trump announces National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom is dead after being shot in DC ‘terror attack’
President Donald Trump announced during a meeting with soldiers that National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom died from injuries she suffered after being shot in a ‘terrorist attack’ in Washington DC.
The 20-year-old was ambushed along with West Virginia National Guard member Andrew Wolfe while on duty near the White House on Wednesday night.
During a livestreamed Thanksgiving phone call with military personnel Thursday evening, Trump announced that Beckstrom tragically died from his injuries.
‘Just a few seconds before we go on, I just heard that one of the guardsmen we talked about, Sarah Beckstrom from West Virginia, a highly respected, young, amazing person, extraordinary in every way, has just passed away,’ he said.
‘He is no longer with us. He’s looking down on us right now. His parents are also with him. This just happened. He was brutally attacked and killed.’
Trump said Beckstrom was an ‘incredible person.’ Exceptional in every way, episode.
“It’s terrible,” he added.
The 29-year-old Afghan suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, remains in custody while he was hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries allegedly sustained in the clash.
Beckstrom’s distraught father, Gary, had previously revealed that he would not survive his injuries.
President Donald Trump has confirmed that National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom died from injuries she sustained after being shot in a ‘terrorist attack’ in Washington DC.
Trump announced Beckstrom’s death Thursday night, describing her as “an incredible human being” and “remarkable in every way.”
It was stated that the alleged gunman was 29-year-old Afghan soldier Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
“He has a fatal wound, there is no way he can heal,” he told the New York Times, speaking from his bedside. ‘I’m holding her hand right now.’
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said Beckstrom’s death was “not the outcome we hoped for, but it is the outcome we all feared.”
‘Sarah served with courage, extraordinary determination and an unwavering sense of duty to her state and nation,’ he wrote in a moving article.
‘He answered the call to service, willingly stepped forward and performed his duty with the strength and character that define the best of the West Virginia National Guard.
‘Today, we honor her courage and sacrifice as we mourn the loss of a young woman who gave everything she had to defend others.’
He vowed to ‘keep his family, friends and fellow Guardians forever in our prayers as he endures pain that no family should ever have to endure.’
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also offered his condolences to the family on Thanksgiving Day, writing: ‘An American hero who is at home with the Lord. RIP, Expert Sarah Beckstrom. Let our nation kneel and pray for his family.’
Suspect Lakanwal arrived in America in 2021 as part of the disastrous US withdrawal from Afghanistan after serving as an ally of Special Forces troops in the CIA-backed ‘Unit Zero’.
Sarah is seen with her father Gary in a photo shared on social media
Beckstrom was ‘ambushed’ with fellow West Virginia National Guard member Andrew Wolfe
He applied for asylum in 2024 after his temporary visa expired and was accepted by the Trump administration in April 2025.
On Thursday, a longtime friend shared details of his mental health struggle against the horrors and violence he saw as part of his job within the unit.
‘He couldn’t stand it when he saw the blood, dead bodies and injured people,’ his childhood friend said. New York Times.
‘This put a lot of pressure on his mind.’
The father of five was part of an elite paramilitary unit, often referred to as a ‘death squad’, that fought against the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan.
Lakanwal allegedly shot National Guard soldiers just a half-mile from the White House on Wednesday.
Authorities said the suspect was driving across the country from his home in Bellingham, Washington state, where he lived near the Canadian border with his wife and five children.
The soldiers were shot with a .357 Smith and Wesson pistol.
Footage emerged from the scene Wednesday showing first responders performing CPR on a soldier who was shot in the head
A law enforcement member with a rifle at the scene near the White House
D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said she believed the pair “were sworn into National Guard duty less than 24 hours before they were shot in the street.”
Lakanwal initially faced charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
But Pirro promised that those charges would be upgraded to first-degree murder if one of the alleged victims did not survive.
“We pray that they survive and that the top charge is not first-degree murder,” he said before Beckstrom’s death.
‘But make no mistake, if they don’t, that will certainly be the charge.’
