The female West Virginia National Guard member critically wounded in a cowardly ambush by an Afhgan refugee Wednesday had volunteered to work that day so others could spend Thanksgiving with their families.

The brave guardsman was identified as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a Thursday press conference.

A woman in a military uniform, wearing a camouflage cap, with a name tag "BECKSTROM" on her right breast and "U.S. ARMY" on her left breast.
National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom was critically wounded in Wednesday’s sh00ting.

Mugshot of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers.
Suspected gu::nman Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, came to the US during the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, authorities said.FBI
She was sh0t in the chest and head, authorities previously reported.

“She volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving — working today — she volunteers, as did many of those guardsmen and women so other people could be home with their families,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News early Thursday, before Beckstrom was identified as the second victim.

“Yet now, their families are in hospital rooms with them while they are fighting for their lives.”

The other wounded guardsman was previously identified as 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe.

“Both Sarah and Andrew were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were sh0t on the street in Washington,” Pirro revealed.

Andrew Wolfe, in military uniform, standing with four other people in front of a U.S. Air Force plane.
National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe was identified as the other victim.Andrew Wolfe / Facebook

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro speaks at a press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel and other authorities, discussing the shooting of two National Guard members, with photos of the victims and the suspect on display.
US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials give an update on the sh00ting with posters of the victims and the suspect.REUTERS
Both have undergone surgery and are in critical condition.

They sustained the life-threatening injuries when Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, allegedly opened fire near the Farragut West Metro Station in Northwest DC in what’s being probed as a possible terrorist att@ck.

 

“They received the finest medical care. Their families are with them now. They are critical — I think you understand the meaning of that. It’s not clear how this is going to end up. But let me be perfectly clear about how it will end up in this office — if one of them is to pass, and God forbid that happens, this is a murder one. Period. End of the story,” said Pirro.

“We are praying on a day like today when families come together in America and they hold hands around the Thanksgiving table. I beg you, I beseech you to play, to pray for these two young people that they survive.”

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro speaking at a press conference.
US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said that Beckstorm had volunteered to work on Wednesday so other troops could spend time with their families for Thanksgiving.REUTERS

Photos of National Guard members Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom, and suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, displayed at a press conference.
Both of the wounded National Guardsmen were sworn in less than 24 hours before the sh00ting.REUTERS

Front page of the New York Post with the headline "AMBUSHED" and an image of a medical responder helping an injured National Guard member.
The Post’s cover on the tragic sh00ting of the two National Guardsmen in Washington, DC.
Bondi noted that the gu::nman’s charges would be determined by Beckstrom and Wolfe’s prognosis, but that authorities were working at “lightspeed” to put together the facts of the case.

Lakanwal allegedly ambushed the two National Guard members near the White House, lying in wait before opening fire in a brazen att@ck.

He was sh0t by return fire from other guard members.

Footage showing the aftermath of a shooting near the White House, with two National Guard members wounded and a suspect restrained.
The scene of the sh00ting near the White House.Elizabeth Gomes via Storyful

His motive is not yet clear, but authorities are probing it as a targeted terrorist att@ck.

Lakanwal was a member of the Afghan Army stationed in Kandahar where he supported US Special Forces in the region, a relative told NBC News.

He applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23 of this year — and had no known criminal history, a Trump admin official told Reuters.