What We Know About the 2 National Guard Members Shot in DC Ambush

The man accused of shooting two National Guard members just steps away from the White House on Nov. 26 has been charged with first-degree murder as new information has surfaced about the ambushed victims.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who once worked with the CIA, is accused of shooting Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe while they were performing “high visibility patrols” on Nov. 26.

Lakanwal was first charged with assault, but the charge will be upgraded to murder in the first degree after Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving Day, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

Wolfe remains in the hospital in “very critical condition,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said on Nov. 28.

Spc. Sarah Beckstrom

Sarah Beckstrom graduated from Webster County High School in 2023 and lived in Summersville, West Virginia, a small city in the middle of the state with a population of about 3,400.

The 20-year-old enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard on June 26, 2023, shortly after she graduated high school.

She served as a military police soldier for the 863rd Military Police Company and 111th Engineer Brigade before she volunteered to serve in the Trump administration’s Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful.

“Spc. Sarah Beckstrom came to the District from West Virginia to make our nation’s capital safe and beautiful,” Col. Larry Doane, the Joint Task Force District of Columbia commander, said.

“She is a hero and we mourn her passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones and with the West Virginia National Guard.”

The West Virginia native worked as a community engagement specialist with Seneca Health Services before her deployment, according to Summersville Mayor Robert Shafer.

“Her dedication, both to our nation and to the people of our community, will never be forgotten,” Shafer wrote in a Facebook post on Nov. 28.

“Beckstrom was pronounced dead at MedStar Washington Hospital in the District of Columbia on November 27, 2025, as the result of wounds incurred during the shooting,” the West Virginia National Guard confirmed in a Facebook post on Nov. 27.

Her tight-knit community will hold a candlelight vigil in her honor on Saturday at the Summersville City Pavilion.

Beckstrom’s employer, Seneca Health Services, is offering grief support to assist family, friends, former classmates, and members of the community.

“Sarah was a member of the Seneca team and Webster County community,” Seneca Health Services wrote on Facebook on Nov. 27.

“Our prayers continue for her mother, Evalea, and her family during this difficult time.”

Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe

Andrew Wolfe is from Martinsburg, West Virginia, roughly 78 miles’ drive northeast of Washington.

The 24-year-old joined the West Virginia National Guard on Feb. 5, 2019, and serves with the 167th Force Support Squadron.

Just like Beckstrom, Wolfe volunteered to serve for the Trump administration’s Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful and was sent to Washington in August.

As of the afternoon of Nov. 28, Wolfe remains in “very serious condition,” Morrisey told CNN in an interview.

The governor said that his family is asking everyone across the state and country to pray for Wolfe.