Martinsburg, West Virginia
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[Breaking news update, published at 6:51 p.m. ET]
President Donald Trump mentioned Thursday that US Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, one of many National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, has died.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023 outstanding in every way. She’s just passed away,” Trump mentioned in a Thanksgiving name to service members.
[Original story, published at 5:21 p.m. ET]
US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe had been referred to as to the nation’s capital in August as National Guard troops from a number of states responded to President Donald Trump’s surge of federal regulation enforcement in the world.
But on the eve of Thanksgiving, the 2 West Virginia National Guard members had been injured in an “ambush style” shooting simply blocks away from the White House.
After present process surgical procedure, each Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, stay in crucial situation Thursday, with federal and native authorities, their West Virginia neighbors and their family members calling for prayers.
“Please keep my son in your prayers,” Wolfe’s father, Jason Wolfe, informed NCS.
His son is “a great person” and “he’s a fighter,” he shared.
Here is what we all know concerning the two National Guard members:
Hoping others might spend Thanksgiving dwelling, Beckstrom had volunteered to work in DC over the vacation.
“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 informed Fox News on Thursday.
Beckstrom, of Summersville, West Virginia, first started her service on June 26, 2023, and is assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, West Virginia Army National Guard.
Even earlier than becoming a member of the army, she had “always demonstrated the strength, character, and commitment that make our school and community proud,” based on Webster County High School in Upperglade, the place she graduated in 2023.
Her father was subsequent to her on Thanksgiving, dealing with the severity of his daughter’s situation, based on The New York Times.
“I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom informed the Times by cellphone. “She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”
Andrew Wolfe
Wolfe is the buddy and neighbor who would give the shirt off his again to anybody who wants it, Michael Langone informed NCS on Thursday.
Langone, who lives in the condominium subsequent door to Wolfe’s in Martinsburg, West Virginia, described him as a “great guy, great neighbor.”
“I just hope his family’s doing okay with it,” Langone mentioned. “They’ve always been good to us, and we’ve always looked out for each other, and that’s about being a good neighbor.”
Wolfe has been a member of the West Virginia National Guard since February 5, 2019, and is assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing.
In his hometown of Martinsburg, neighbors and a former schoolmate had been shocked on the information of the shooting.
“It spread so quickly,” mentioned Tara Newcomb, who went to high school with Wolfe and was just a few years behind him.
“A lot of people liked him and knew him. I hope he’s doing okay,” Newcomb mentioned.
Tina Gesford, one other considered one of Wolfe’s neighbors, mentioned he’s pleasant, a “sweet kid” and “hard worker.” She usually sees him on his option to work, or coming and going clad in his West Virginia National Guard uniform.
The shooting, she mentioned, got here as a shock.
“It scares people,” Gesford mentioned. “DC is crazy right now. So it’s scary thinking that one of our people are down there getting hurt.”
NCS’s Gabe Cohen and Nicky Robertson reported from Martinsburg, West Virginia; Nicquel Terry Ellis wrote and reported from Atlanta. NCS’s David Brooks and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.