The two National Guard members shot just blocks from the White House the day before Thanksgiving in what officials called a “targeted” attack have been identified.
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were in critical condition after undergoing surgery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said during a press conference Thursday morning.
“I also want to say that both Sarah and Andrew, I believe, were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington,” Pirro said.
Beckstrom and Wolfe are members of the West Virginia National Guard, which was deployed to the nation’s capital to tackle crime in the city following an executive order from President Donald Trump earlier this year.
“They answered the call. They took the charge. They volunteered. They put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know,” Pirro said of the two Guard members.
Pirro spoke Thursday morning alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard of the National Guard. She provided new details about the shooting, including the weapon used by the suspect.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were in uniform near the Farragut West Metro station around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday when they were “ambushed” in “a brazen and targeted attack,” Pirro said.
“A lone gunman opened fire without provocation, ambush style,” she said. “Armed with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver, one Guardsman is struck, goes down, and then the shooter leans over and strikes the Guardsmen again. Another Guardsman is struck several times.”
Pirro said other nearby Guardsmen immediately rushed the suspect. One responding Guardsman shot the suspect, who was quickly subdued.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was taken to a local hospital, where he remains under heavy guard, according to Pirro.
Authorities are investigating the shooting as a possible act of international terrorism.
Patel said he spoke with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, confirming that the suspect had a relationship in Afghanistan with U.S. partner forces.
“We are fully investigating that aspect of his background as well, to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America,” he said.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. legally in 2021 under humanitarian parole as part of the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He had his asylum application approved during the Trump administration.
Patel said federal authorities have executed multiple search warrants across the country, including at Lakanwal’s last known residence in Bellingham, Washington.
“During that process, we seized numerous electronic devices to include cellphones, laptops, iPads and other material that is being analyzed as we speak,” he said.
Patel said evidence found in Washington state led investigators to San Diego, where they are interviewing multiple subjects.
“Pursuant to that investigation [in Washington], and any known associates of the subject and of that house is how we ended up in San Diego, where interviews were conducted and are going to be continued to be conducted.”
Patel added: “And we will go anywhere in the country or the world where the evidence leads us.”
