West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, has died after being shot while on duty in Washington, D.C., Gov. Patrick Morrisey said.
“This is not the result we hoped for, but it is the result we all feared,” Morrisey said in a statement issued by the Governor’s Office.
Beckstrom is from Summersville and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, West Virginia Army National Guard. She entered service on June 26, 2023.
“Sarah served with courage, extraordinary resolve, and an unwavering sense of duty to her state and to her nation. She answered the call to serve, stepped forward willingly, and carried out her mission with the strength and character that define the very best of the West Virginia National Guard,” Morrisey said.
“Today, we honor her bravery and her sacrifice as we mourn the loss of a young woman who gave everything she had in defense of others. We will forever hold her family, her friends, and her fellow Guardsmen in our prayers as they grieve what no family should ever have to bear.”
She and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot the day before Thanksgiving at the corner of 17th and I Streets NW. D.C. police said they had one suspect in custody, an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Authorities have said the suspect in the shooting came around a corner, raised his gun and fired at Guardsmen who were gathered at the location near a Metro stop.
Several vigils were already planned in Webster County to honor Beckstrom, who was a 2023 graduate of Webster County High School.
“I’m absolutely devastated to learn that Sarah Beckstrom passed away today after suffering a mortal wound in yesterday’s terrorist attack in Washington, DC. Cathy and I are heartbroken beyond words,” Senator Jim Justice, R-W.Va., said. “Our prayers are with her family, friends, and fellow guardsmen during an incredibly difficult Thanksgiving Day.
“We are also lifting up Andrew Wolfe in prayer as he continues his journey to recovery. West Virginians always show up for one another, and today it’s our turn to show up for our service members as they mourn this terrible loss.”
Wolfe of Martinsburg was assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard. He entered service on February 5, 2019.
On August 11, President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” for the District of Columbia, and five days later Governor Morrisey deployed 300 to 400 members of the West Virginia National Guard for support.
The president’s emergency declaration, which placed the Metropolitan Police Department under federal direction, expired after 30 days, Sept. 10, but the National Guard presence continued.
About 2,000 members of the National Guard, overall, have been deployed to Washington, D.C., to patrol on the National Mall, in Metro public transportation stations and across D.C. neighborhoods.
Members of the West Virginia National Guard assigned to the mission have been operating under Joint Task Force-DC, which says the presence will continue “until law and order is restored.”
Earlier this month, the West Virginia National Guard announced participation in patrols in Washington, D.C., would continue until the end of the year. However, the mission was being scaled back.
About 160 West Virginia National Guard volunteers were approved to remain in D.C. All personnel not continuing as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission returned to West Virginia.
Both Wolfe and Beckstrom had been on Task Force orders in the district since the beginning of the mission in August of this year, the National Guard said.
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Sarah Beckstrom of the West Virginia National Guard has died after D.C. shooting, governor says
