Gary Beckstrom, father of slain National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, shared a painful message on Facebook Thursday.
“My baby girl has passed to glory. If I don’t talk to you don’t be offend this has been a horrible tragedy,” he posted.
Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was shot by a lone gunman in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. On Thursday, Gary Beckstrom told The New York Times that his daughter “has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.” Shortly after, President Donald Trump announced Sarah had died.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was also shot in the attack and is in critical condition. His father, Jason Wolfe, told CNN, “Please keep my son in your prayers.”
Both Beckstrom and Wolfe are part of the West Virginia National Guard. They were deployed to the nation’s capital in mid-August after Trump ordered the National Guard to patrol the city to address crime.
Beckstrom, born in Summersville, West Virginia, had volunteered to work in D.C. on Thanksgiving.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News on Thursday, “She volunteered, as did many of those guardsmen and women, so other people could be home with their families, yet now their families are in hospital rooms with them while they are fighting for their lives.”
Beckstrom’s ex-boyfriend, Adam Carr, described her as a “loving, caring person” with a “huge heart” to CNN. A woman at a vigil for Beckstrom in Webster Springs, West Virginia, told the publication, “I did not know a single soul here or anywhere that was as nice as she was or as caring. She really just made everybody happier.”
The shooting has been described by law enforcement as a “targeted attack.” The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a former member of the Afghan Army who served alongside U.S. Special Forces troops. The motive is unknown.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on X that the shooter came to the U.S. in 2021 under Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome” initiative, which was intended to help Afghans who worked alongside U.S. troops resettle into the United States.
Lakanwal’s nationality has led Trump, 79, to threaten, “We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan.”
When a CNN reporter reminded Trump on Thursday that his administration granted Lakanwal asylum in April of 2025 and asked why he blamed the Biden administration, the president snapped, “Because they let them in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane, along with thousands of other people that shouldn’t be here, and you’re just asking questions, because you’re a stupid person.”
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