A West Virginia National Guard member died Thursday after being shot while on duty in Washington, D.C., in an attack allegedly carried out by an Afghan national who had previously worked with the CIA and other U.S. entities in Afghanistan.
President Donald Trump confirmed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom’s death in a Thanksgiving address.
“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now,” Trump said. “She was savagely attacked.”
The 20-year-old died after she was shot in the head and the chest near the Farragut West Metro Station in D.C.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Beckstrom volunteered to work on Thanksgiving so other guard members could spend the holiday with their families. The second West Virginia National Guard member shot, Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, is currently in critical condition.
The CIA confirmed Thursday that the suspect previously worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan, both with CIA units and other government groups.
The suspect was admitted to the U.S. in September 2021 and had been living in Washington state, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed, identifying the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal. More than 75,000 Afghans were admitted to the U.S. after the military withdrawal in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome.
“In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital.
Trump called for an investigation into the Afghan resettlement program, Operation Allies Welcome, following the shooting.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced late Wednesday that the agency has halted processing all immigration requests from Afghan nationals.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” USCIS said in a post on X. “The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
In June, the Trump administration placed Afghan nationals on a travel ban list, with the exception of those with Afghan Special Immigrant Visas, a visa given to individuals who helped the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan. The suspect worked with multiple government agencies in Afghanistan, as well as a CIA-backed unit in the southern province of Kandahar.
Officials have not confirmed the suspect’s motive, but the president is calling the event an “act of evil and act of hatred and an act of terror.”
The two West Virginia National Guard members were shot near the White House on Wednesday in what Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called a “targeted shooting.”
Earlier on Wednesday, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said in a social media post that the National Guard members had died. Morrisey, however, quickly walked back his statement and said there was “conflicting” information about their status.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the assailant will be charged with assault on a federal officer.
D.C. police said the National Guard members were armed at the time of the shooting and that it was unclear who shot the suspect.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House “is aware and actively monitoring the tragic situation,” and that Trump, who is currently in Florida, had been briefed.
Trump responded to the shooting in a statement on Truth Social.
“The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price,” he wrote. “God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
In response to the shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump ordered a deployment of 500 additional troops to D.C.
Trump first ordered the deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard members to the streets and subway stations of Washington, D.C., back in August. Last week, a federal judge ordered a temporary suspension of the deployment. The Trump administration filed an appeal to that ruling on Tuesday.