National Guard member shot in Washington DC identified
The National Guard soldiers shot and killed in Washington, D.C., have been identified as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolf.
As the Trump administration tightens its crackdown on illegal immigration, an Afghan national is being investigated as a terrorist suspect in the shooting of two West Virginia National Guardsmen, killing one and injuring another.
In a post on Truth Social late Thursday night, President Donald Trump wrote, “This refugee burden is the primary cause of social dysfunction in the United States…I will permanently halt immigration from all Third World countries so that the American system can fully recover.”
President Trump also announced Thursday that Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old U.S. Army specialist, died from her injuries in Wednesday’s shooting in the nation’s capital. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolf, 24, is “fighting for his life” and remains hospitalized in critical condition, the president said.
“I want to express the collective pain and horror of our nation over the terrorist attack that took place yesterday in our nation’s capital, where a ferocious monster shot and killed two West Virginia National Guard soldiers who were deployed as part of a special task force in Washington, D.C.,” President Trump said during a Thanksgiving phone call with military personnel.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Rakanwal, was shot shortly after the attack and was hospitalized in critical condition. The motive behind the fatal shooting is unknown at this time.
Lakhanwal entered the United States in 2021 as part of the Biden administration-era asylum program. Trump administration officials are using the attack to blame the Biden administration for immigration failures.
In the wake of the shooting, the Trump administration began ordering a broader review of immigration policy, including suspending all immigration applications for Afghan nationals and reexamining green card holders from 19 countries deemed “high risk.”
Beckstrom, a native of Summersville, West Virginia, is assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade and was commissioned in June 2023, according to a West Virginia National Guard news release. She was one of the National Guard troops sent to the area in August as part of President Trump’s anti-crime efforts.
President Trump on Thursday described Beckstrom as “a very well-respected, young, wonderful person.” Janine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wrote in X that Beckstrom volunteered to serve in Washington, D.C., on Thanksgiving for “people I have never met who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Beckstrom’s high school released a statement on social media saying it was “shocked and saddened” to hear of the shootings in Washington, D.C.
“Sarah, a member of the Class of 2023, has consistently demonstrated strength, character and dedication that makes our school and community proud,” Webster County High School said in a statement. Click here for details.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said President Trump had ordered a review of green cards issued by “all countries of concern.”
Edlow announced on November 27 that he had ordered “a full-fledged and rigorous re-examination” of all green card holders from 19 countries. Target countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The new policy is effective immediately and applies to immigration applications that are pending or filed after November 27, USCIS said. The guidance comes after the Trump administration “suspended the resettlement of refugees from Afghanistan and the entry of Afghan nationals in its first year in office,” the agency said in a news release.
Afghanistan was one of the countries targeted by a travel ban announced by President Trump in June, which blocked foreign nationals from 12 countries from entering the country and partially restricted entry into the United States from seven other countries.
Contributor: Taylor Eardley, USA TODAY. Reuters
