West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, whose life was brutally cut short in an ambush carried out by an Afghan refugee, has died at the age of 20.
President Trump announced the tragic loss during his Thanksgiving‑night address.
“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now,” Trump told viewers.
Beckstrom was listed as critical after gunshots struck her chest and head.
She was rushed into urgent surgery after the shocking attack, but the prognosis remained grim.
Her father believed his daughter would succumb to her injuries when reached by The New York Times on Thanksgiving Day.
“I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom said.
“She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”
Authorities are likely to charge Rahmanullah Lakanwal with first‑degree murder, among other offenses, for the shooting that took place near the Farragut West Metro Station in Northwest DC on Wednesday.
14‑year‑old Andrew Wolfe was also shot during the incident. Like Beckstrom, he was taken for emergency operations and remains hospitalized.
The two guards had been sworn in for their duties only a day before, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Beckstrom had volunteered to cover holiday shifts so that her colleagues could spend Thanksgiving at home.
“She volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving — working today — she volunteered, as did many of those guardsmen and women, so other people could be home with their families,” Bondi told reporters Thursday morning.
“Yet now, their families are in hospital rooms with them while they are fighting for their lives.”
Lakanwal, 29, is alleged to have waited at the White House vicinity before opening fire with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver.
He was shot in return by other guard members.
Authorities are investigating whether the attack was a deliberate terrorist act, as Lakanwal’s motive remains unclear.
Pirro added that Lakanwal crossed the country to carry out the attack, leaving his home in Bellingham, Washington, where he lives with his wife and five children.
He previously served in the Afghan Army in Kandahar, supporting U.S. Special Forces, according to a relative who spoke to NBC News.
Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. during the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, applied for asylum in December 2024, and received approval on April 23 of this year. He had no known criminal record, a Trump administration official told Reuters.
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