(Photo credit: MS NOW)
Dear Commons Community,
One of the two National Guard members shot in what authorities described as a “targeted” ambush near the White House has died, Trump announced on Thursday.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023, outstanding in every way. She’s just passed away,” Trump said in a Thanksgiving call to service members from Palm Beach, Florida.
“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us,” Trump continued. “
“I want to express the anguish and the horror of our entire nation at the terrorist attack yesterday in our nation’s capital, in which a savage monster gunned down two service members in the West Virginia National Guard who were deployed as part of the DC Task Force,” Trump said.
“Until yesterday … It was the safest place imaginable,” he continued. “And this is a different kind of crime. This is a really bad crime.”
Following the shooting, Trump ordered 500 additional National Guard troops to be deployed to Washington. Thousands of troops have already been deployed in the capital as part of the president’s immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities.
Andrew Wolfe, the other National Guard member who was shot near the White House, remained in critical condition, is “fighting for his life” and was in “very bad shape,” according to the president.
The troops were part of a “high-visibility patrol,” about two blocks from the White House, when the shooting occurred, authorities said. The suspect was identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national from Washington state.
The suspect’s motive has not been determined. He was shot by a nearby National Guard member and remained hospitalized in “serious condition” as of Thursday,” according to authorities and Trump.
Beckstrom, 20, was a member of the West Virginia National Guard. She and Wolfe, 24, were attacked outside a Metro station in the heart of the nation’s capital, law enforcement authorities have said.
May she rest in peace and here’s hoping that Andrew Wolfe pulls through!
Tony
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