President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Specialist Sarah Beckstrom of the West Virginia National Guard had passed away after being shot near the White House the day before.
Trump delivered the news as families across the United States were celebrating Thanksgiving, saying, “I must unfortunately tell you that just seconds before I went on right now, I heard that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the Guardsmen that we’re talking about — highly respected, young, magnificent person — started service in 2023, outstanding in every way, she’s just passed away.”
“She’s no longer with us, she’s looking down on us right now,” the president continued. “Her parents are with her. This just happened. She was savagely attacked, she’s dead, not with us. Incredible person. Outstanding in every single way, in every department. Just horrible.”
Trump’s announcement comes just hours after Beckstrom’s father revealed that she was not expected to survive her injuries.
“I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom said earlier on Thursday. “She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”
Beckstrom, 20, had reportedly volunteered to serve over the Thanksgiving holiday so that other National Guard members could spend the time at home with their families.
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“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,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
“They answered the call, they took the charge, they volunteered, they put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know, and that unfortunately is becoming a reality more and more for the members of law enforcement,” United States Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro added.
The suspect, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States in 2021 as part of President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” which — as The Daily Wire previously reported — allowed roughly 77,000 Afghan nationals into the country.