Updated: One of two National Guard members shot near White House dies; Afghan suspect worked with CIA

by WorldTribune Staff, November 28, 2025 Real World News

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, one of the two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot near the White House on Wednesday, has died, President Donald Trump said on Thursday, adding that Andrew Wolfe, 24, is “fighting for his life.”

The suspect in custody, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the war in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. during the Biden Administration, Trump Administration officials said.

U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom

Washington, D.C.’s U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, said during a briefing on Thursday that if either of National Guard members were to die, Lakanwal will face a first-degree murder charge.

“If one of them is to pass, and God forbid that happens, this is a murder-one. Period, end of the story,” she said.

Pirro said Beckstrom and Wolfe “volunteered to put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know.” The pair were sworn in less than 24 hours before the incident, Pirro said.

Addressing the nation on Wednesday night, Trump said he has ordered his administration to review all Afghans who entered the country during the Biden years. The Department of Homeland Security said the suspect entered the U.S. in 2021.

“We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country, who does not belong here or add benefit to our country. If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” Trump said.

Lakanwal, 29, worked with CIA-backed military units during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, the agency said Thursday.

The suspect had worked for one of Afghanistan’s elite counterterrorism units operated by the CIA, according to AfghanEvac, a nonprofit organization that works to resettle Afghan nationals.

He was evacuated from Afghanistan during the Biden Administration by the U.S. military following Joe Biden’s surrender of Kabul to the Taliban and arrived in the U.S. on what is known as “humanitarian parole,” a temporary status that was used to evacuate tens of thousands of U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, applicants for special immigrant visas and at-risk Afghan partners.

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it would conduct a review of all asylum cases approved under the Biden Administration in response to the shooting.

Trump characterized the shooting as “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.” He added:

“We will make America totally safe, and we will bring the perpetrator of this barbaric attack to swift and certain justice, if the bullets going in the opposite direction haven’t already done that.”

Lakanwal will face charges including three counts of assault with intent to kill after allegedly ambushing the National Guard members near the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities believe Lakanwal lives in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and five children, Pirro said. Law enforcement raided a property in the state overnight and confiscated numerous electronic devices. The FBI was also following a lead linking Lakanwal to an address in San Diego, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

During an interview with Fox News Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the administration could pursue terrorism charges and possibly the death penalty if either of the guard members dies.

Lakanwal drove across the country from his home in Washington state, Pirro said. He approached a group of National Guard near the White House and fired several rounds with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver, she said. Fellow troops engaged the suspect, and he remains in an area hospital under heavy guard.

“This was not just an attack, it was a direct challenge to law and order in our nation’s capital,” Pirro said. The FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism.

Earlier Trump wrote in a post to 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. 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!”

The White House was on lockdown on Wednesday afternoon, according to an administration official. The Treasury Department’s headquarters, which is located next to the White House, was also under lockdown.

Trump was in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday and wasn’t at the White House at the time of the shooting.

A federal judge last week ruled that the National Guard’s mobilization in Washington, D.C., which began in August, violated several laws. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb delayed implementation of her ruling until Dec. 11 so that the administration could appeal.

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