WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump on Sunday invited the family of one of the National Guard members fatally shot in Washington, D.C. last week to the White House.
Trump added that he spoke to the parents of U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and that they were “devastated” after the Wednesday shooting, which also seriously injured U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The president told reporters on Air Force One Sunday night that he discussed a visit for the parents of both members of the West Virginia National Guard.
I said, ‘When you’re ready, because that’s a tough thing, come to the White House. We’re going to honor Sarah,” he said. “And likewise with Andrew, recover or not.
Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were deployed to Washington, D.C. as part of Trump’s crackdown on crime in bigger cities.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said that if Lakanwal is convicted, prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. Pirro said he drove across the country to D.C. from his home in Bellingham, Washington, where he lived with his wife and five kids.
Lakanwal came to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021 and reportedly worked with the U.S. war effort in the country, including working with the CIA. ABC News reports he was granted asylum in the U.S. in April of this year.
In an address on Wednesday night, Trump called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and and an act of terror.”
The shooting prompted the Trump administration to halt all asylum decisions and pause issuing visas for people traveling with an Afghan passport.
