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.

The father of Sarah Beckstrom, one of the two National Guard members allegedly shot by Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, said that she has a “mortal wound” and is not expected to survive.

“I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom said. “She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”

🚨Sad news: The father of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom from the WV National Guard says her death is all but certain. "She has a mortal wound. It's not going to be a recovery." pic.twitter.com/IJMIOYQ6th

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) November 27, 2025

Beckstrom, 20, an Army Specialist, had volunteered to work the Thanksgiving holiday so that her fellow soldiers could go home to their families, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Thursday.

“She volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving, working today,” Bondi said. “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.”

 “The accused gunman had been part of an Afghan ‘partner force’ trained and supported by the C.I.A. in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said. An Afghan intelligence official said the suspect had served in one of what were known as Zero Units, Afghan paramilitary forces trained to target the Taliban and that were accused of widespread killings of civilians,” The New York Times reported.

On Thursday, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro made it clear that if either Beckstrom or Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, the other Guard member who was shot, did not survive, the federal government would seek charges of murder in the first degree against the suspect, making him eligible for the death penalty.

Speaking at a press conference Thursday morning, Pirro stated,

“As we stand here today, the charges that are appropriate right now are three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, a violation of DC code 22–401 and DC code 22–4502. He will also be charged  possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces 15 years under assault with the intent to kill. We intend to continue monitoring what the charges will be, depending upon the well-being of the guardsmen. 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,” she declared. “If they do not, that will certainly be the charge: murder in the first degree. The Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi is committed to a thorough and impartial investigation where we will hold this perpetrator accountable under the full weight of the law.”