Gary Beckstrom, the father of West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, noted in a heartbreaking Facebook post on Thursday that his daughter had died.
“My baby girl has passed to glory. If I don’t talk to you don’t be offend [sic] this has been a horrible tragedy,” he wrote.
Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal is a suspect in the shooting that killed Beckstrom and injured fellow Guard member Andrew Wolfe in Washingon, D.C. on Wednesday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem noted Wednesday in a post on X, “The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration.”
President Donald Trump referred to the perpetrator as a “monster” during remarks on Thursday, noting that he was “in serious condition.”
Trump noted on Thursday that Beckstrom had died while the other victim was “fighting for his life.”
A Thursday press release stated that “At approximately 2:15 p.m., on November 26, 2025, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard, and U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, West Virginia Army National Guard, were wounded in a shooting near the Farragut Square Metro Station in Washington, D.C.”
“All we need right now are prayers for my son,” a man at Wolfe’s family home informed a reporter, according to the New York Times.
