President Donald Trump addressed the nation on a tragic development resulting from the heinous attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
The president announced the death of 20-year-old National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom, who was allegedly viciously shot by an Afghan Army veteran who entered the U.S. under the Biden administration in 2021, as Resist the Mainstream previously reported.
Beckstrom was one of two soldiers who were shot. West Virginia National Guard soldier Andrew Wolfe is currently in critical condition at a hospital.
Trump announced Beckstrom’s death while addressing reporters on Thanksgiving Day.
“Just seconds before I went on, right now, I heard that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we were talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person… outstanding in every way, she’s just passed away,” Trump said.
“She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down on us right now. Her parents are with her. It’s just happened. She was savagely attacked, she’s dead,” he added.
Authorities currently have 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal in custody. He is currently hospitalized but is expected to recover.
Following the attacks against Beckstrom and Wolfe, Trump directed War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy an additional 500 troops in the nation’s Capital, demonstrating that the Trump administration would not be deterred.
In a statement on Truth Social, the president vowed that the suspect in custody would face severe consequences if found guilty of the horrific crime.
“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!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s statement came a day before Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries.
Tragically, Beckstrom and Wolfe were killed less than 24 hours after becoming National Guard troops, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
Lakanwal currently faces charges of assault with the intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, per the Daily Mail.
Pirro had vowed that if either soldier was found dead, then the charges against the Afghan national would be upgraded.
Speaking before Beckstrom’s death, the D.C. attorney said, “We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”
