(Background) US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Brigadier General Leland Blanchard of the National Guard conduct a press conference. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images) / (L) 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom. / (R) 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. (Photos via: FBI)
The two members of the West Virginia National Guard, both newly sworn-in, still remain in critical condition on Thursday as of 8:40 a.m. PT, after being shot in what authorities are investigating as a “targeted ambush” just blocks from the White House. Both have also been identified by D.C. authorities.
On Thursday morning, during a press conference, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro identified the victims as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of Webster Springs, West Virginia, and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe.
As of Thursday morning, hospital officials still described their conditions as critical. Both soldiers’ families have requested privacy as they remain at their bedsides in Washington.
In the press conference, Pirro blamed the Biden administration’s disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the subsequent Operation Allies Welcome program for allowing the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, to enter the United States.
“You picked the wrong target, the wrong city and the wrong country and you will be sorry for the violence and the evil you perpetrated in our nation’s capital,” she declared in the presser.
“Both Sarah and Andrew were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington,” Pirro also revealed.
After the tragic news made headlines, Wolfe’s former high school paid tribute to the courageous 24-year-old National Guardsman with a heartfelt message on its Facebook page.
“Our Applemen community is deeply saddened to learn that Musselman High School alumnus, Andrew Wolfe, was one of the National Guardsmen injured in the shooting in Washington, D.C. today,” Musselman High School in West Virginia posted on Facebook — per the New York Post.
The attack occurred at around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday near the Farragut West metro station in downtown D.C. Both soldiers, who were in uniform and on foot patrol, were struck multiple times, including in the head, chest, and torso. The two were quickly rushed to a local hospital, where they underwent emergency surgery.
The suspected gunman, Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was stabbed and shot by responding officers and taken into custody. Lakanwal resides in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children.
According to reports, Lakanwal is from the Khost province of Afghanistan, a Pashtun-majority area bordering Pakistan where over 99% of the population is Muslim, predominantly Sunni. His first name, Rahmanullah, also means “Mercy of Allah” in Arabic.
The Afghan national is still hospitalized, though in stable condition, and he now faces federal charges. Although Lakanwal’s permission to stay in the U.S. expired in September 2023, he applied for asylum in 2024, and his application was eventually granted earlier this year, a DHS official told CBS.
Lakanwal faces the following charges:
Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Criminal possession of a weapon.
Possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Additionally, officials emphasized that the charges will be upgraded to first-degree murder if either of the wounded Guardsmen do not survive their injuries. He currently faces 15 years behind bars just for his first charge: Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Prosecutors will follow the wellbeing of the soldiers before announcing any other charges, she added.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has reportedly taken the lead in the investigation, and the agency is treating the incident as a potential act of terrorism, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. No motive has been publicly disclosed.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden administration’s “humanitarian parole program” for Afghans who assisted American forces. He was later granted asylum in April 2025 and held a green card at the time of the shooting.
U.S. officials also confirmed that Lakanwal previously served in Afghanistan’s elite Commando Corps, and that he worked with a CIA-backed military unit. He is expected to make his initial court appearance once medically cleared.
“The CIA said the suspect worked for the agency in Afghanistan prior to the U.S. withdrawal from the nation in 2021,” the Hill reported.
President Donald Trump, responding to the attack, has since ordered an immediate review of vetting procedures for all Afghan evacuees and other “allies” now resettled in the United States. During a Wednesday night press conference, Trump described the attack as “an act of terror” in a brief video address, framing it as a “heinous assault” and an ambush-style attack. The video was posted to White House social media channels at around 9 p.m. ET from Palm Beach, Florida, where the president is spending Thanksgiving.
West Virginia Republican Senator Jim Justice described the attack as “absolutely sickening” and called on the nation to pray for the young soldiers’ recovery.
He also urged U.S. authorities to “review each and every special visa applicant” who has entered the country under the Biden administration.
“My continued prayers are with Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe. May God surround their families with strength and guide the hands of the medical teams treating them. I ask all West Virginians, and folks across our nation, to keep the prayers coming for Sarah and Andrew,” Justice later added in another X post.
The White House and surrounding areas remain under heightened security on Thursday as the nation celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday.
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