National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom dies after shooting in Washington DC

US President Donald Trump said that one of the two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, has died.

Trump said Thursday evening that Sarah Beckstrom (20 years old) died of her injuries, while the second member of the National Guard, Andrew Wolf (24 years old), is “fighting for his life.”

Both were shot at close range near Farragut Square in central D.C. just after 14:00 EDT (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Police arrested one of the suspects in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakhanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan.

The attack led to a set of announcements by the Trump administration aimed at reducing immigration from Afghanistan and a number of other countries.

The two soldiers who were attacked were deployed in the US capital as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate what it considers rampant crime in many American cities.

Trump confirmed Ms. Beckstrom’s death during a Thanksgiving phone call with US military service members.

He added: “Sarah Beckstrom from West Virginia, one of the guards we’re talking about, is a wonderful, well-respected young woman. She just passed away. She’s no longer with us.”

Trump later spoke to her parents, a White House official told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

The US President said earlier that the attack highlights a major threat to national security.

Following the incident, officials said they would suspend processing of all immigration applications from Afghans and reexamine green cards issued to individuals who immigrated to the United States from 19 countries.

When the BBC asked about the countries included in the list, the agency indicated this June announcement by the White House Which included Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela.

Trump pledged on Thursday to “permanently stop immigration” into the United States from all “third world countries,” without providing details of his plan or naming which countries might be affected.

Ms. Beckstrom enlisted on June 26, 2023 and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia Army National Guard.

Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News after the shooting that she volunteered to work in Washington during the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

Jim Justice, a Republican senator from West Virginia, said he was “absolutely devastated” to learn of Ms. Beckstrom’s death.

“Our prayers are with her family, friends and fellow guardsmen during a very difficult Thanksgiving day,” he said in a statement.

“We also lift Andrew Wolfe in prayer as he continues his journey to recovery.”

Both troopers were on high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th Street and First Street, an area where many office workers walk around at lunchtime.

More than 2,000 soldiers have been guarding the country’s capital since August, when the president began deploying forces in cities to tackle what he called “out of control” crime.

Beckstrom and Wolfe were among those deployed in August, the West Virginia National Guard confirmed to BBC News.

The National Guard is a reserve force that can be activated to act as military forces, but its powers are limited because they cannot enforce the law or make arrests.

The location of the shooting, just blocks from the White House, meant that a number of law enforcement officials quickly arrived at the scene to treat the two victims and arrest the gunman.

Law enforcement sources told CBS that the suspect was shot four times.

Lakanwal came to the United States from Afghanistan in 2021, officials said.

He will be charged with three counts of assault with intent to murder while armed, as well as possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference on Thursday morning, before news of Ms. Beckstrom’s death.

“We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge is not first-degree murder,” Pirro said. “But make no mistake, if they didn’t, that charge would definitely be: first-degree murder.”

Bondi told Fox News on Thursday that her office would seek the death penalty for the suspect, calling him “a monster who should not be in our country.”

Lakkanwal reportedly came to the United States under a program called Operation Allied Welcoming, which offered special immigration protection to Afghans in the wake of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

At that time, the Taliban had regained control of Afghanistan, raising fears of retaliation against those who cooperated with the United States.

A former military commander who served alongside him told the BBC that Lakhanwal helped guard US forces at Kabul airport in 2021 as thousands rushed to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban returned to power.

The suspect was recruited into Unit 03 of the Kandahar Strike Force. His unit was known locally as the Scorpion Forces, initially operating under the CIA but eventually for the Afghan intelligence department known as the National Directorate of Security.

The former commander told the BBC that Lakhanwal was a specialist in GPS tracking, describing him as a “sporty and fun personality”.

His entire unit was transferred from Kandahar to Kabul five days before the Taliban entered the capital. They continued to protect the airport for another six days, before they were also flown back to the United States.

At a press conference on Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Lakhanwal’s connection to US forces, saying the suspect “had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces,” before moving to the United States.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said he worked with the intelligence agency.

Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024, and his request was approved earlier this year, an official told CBS.

(Additional reporting by Hafizullah Marouf and Syed Abdullah Nizami)