U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, one of two National Guard members wounded in a “targeted shooting” near the White House on Wednesday, has died, President Donald Trump said Thursday.
Trump announced the news as he made calls to the U.S. military on Thanksgiving.
Beckstrom, 20, was a “highly respected, young, magnificent person,” Trump said. “She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It’s just happened.”
Andrew Wolfe, the other wounded National Guard member, remains in critical condition.
“The other young man is fighting for his life,” Trump said. “He’s in very bad shape. He’s fighting for his life.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital, posted a statement on social media following Trump’s announcement.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of the National Guard — a hero who volunteered to serve DC on Thanksgiving for people she never met and gave the ultimate sacrifice,” Pirro said in the post. “May she rest in peace. It is now time to avenge her death and secure justice.”
Pirro said the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, drove from Washington state to target the guard members.
Pirro said that the suspect will be charged with several counts, including assault with intent to harm and criminal possession of a weapon.
Lakanwal came to the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration, Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement Wednesday evening. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted that status in April of this year, under the Trump administration.
The National Guard said that they had been deployed to D.C. since August after Trump ordered troops to the city as part of his crackdown on crime.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are spending Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and were not at the White House during the time of the shooting.
