Following the death of 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, the federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia said the suspect now will face charges upgraded to first-degree murder.
Meanwhile, West Virginia is honoring Beckstrom’s memory.
“My baby girl has passed to Glory,” her father, Gary Beckstrom, posted on social media.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a formal proclamation requesting that all West Virginians observe a statewide moment of silence or prayer at 2:15 p.m. today to honor Beckstrom and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, who both were shot this week while on duty in Washington, D.C.
“These two West Virginia heroes were serving our country and protecting our nation’s capital when they were maliciously attacked,” Morrisey said.
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And Beckstrom is being honored by her alma mater, Webster County High School, where she graduated just two years ago, as well as by veterans in the community.
“Sarah, a member of the Class of 2023, has always demonstrated the strength, character, and commitment that make our school and community proud. Her decision to serve her country reflects the very best of what we hope to instill in our Highlander students,” the high school posted.
The Webster County Veterans Auxiliary announced a vigil at 7.p.m. today at the memorial wall steps in Webster Springs and another at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Webster Springs municipal building at 146 McGraw Ave.
“There are no words big enough for this loss,” wrote the veterans organization.
Beckstrom is from Summersville and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, West Virginia Army National Guard. She entered service on June 26, 2023.
Wolfe of Martinsburg was assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard. He entered service on February 5, 2019.
“Can you just imagine? Can you just imagine the families? It’s really sad. God bless them in every way,” Senator Jim Justice, R-W.Va., said today on MetroNews Talkline.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were shot the day before Thanksgiving at the corner of 17th and I Streets NW. The suspect was identified as an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Authorities have said the suspect in the shooting came around a corner, raised his gun and fired at Guardsmen who were gathered at the location near a Metro public transportation stop.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, told cable news today that the charges against Lakanwal will be upgraded.
“There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro said Friday morning on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
Beckstrom’s death was announced Thursday evening by President Trump, Governor Morrisey and others.
U.S. service members and emergency personnel lined the streets of Washington, D.C., during an honor escort — also known as a fallen soldier procession — for Beckstrom as her body was transported from MedStar Washington Hospital.
A fallen soldier procession is a solemn tradition in which military members stand in silent respect as a fallen service member is escorted to their final resting place, symbolizing the nation’s gratitude for a life given in service.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, in a briefing today with West Virginia reporters, said she stood behind the decision to send National Guard members to Washington, D.C.
The senator said their presence in the city helped local law enforcement resources to better focus. And Capito said the National Guard presence was reassuring.
“Let me just be clear here, this was not a random act. They were targeted. Their basic assignment was to be present in D.C. to help D.C. become a safer city. And it was working,” said Capito, R-W.Va.
She added, “They were basically there just to provide a steady presence of peace. So I think they’re very much trained for that.”
On August 11, President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” for the District of Columbia, and five days later Governor Morrisey deployed 300 to 400 members of the West Virginia National Guard for support.
The president’s emergency declaration, which placed the Metropolitan Police Department under federal direction, expired after 30 days, Sept. 10, but the National Guard presence continued.
About 2,000 members of the National Guard, overall, have been deployed to Washington, D.C., to patrol on the National Mall, in Metro public transportation stations and across D.C. neighborhoods.
Members of the West Virginia National Guard assigned to the mission have been operating under Joint Task Force-DC, which says the presence will continue “until law and order is restored.”
Earlier this month, the West Virginia National Guard announced participation in patrols in Washington, D.C., would continue until the end of the year. However, the mission was being scaled back.
About 160 West Virginia National Guard volunteers were approved to remain in D.C. All personnel not continuing as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission returned to West Virginia.
Both Wolfe and Beckstrom had been on Task Force orders in the district since the beginning of the mission in August of this year, the National Guard said.
A federal judge ruled last week that deployment of the National Guard from several states, including West Virginia, to Washington, D.C., has been unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee to the federal court covering the District of Columbia, granted a preliminary injunction. However, Cobb issued a stay of her own ruling until Dec. 11 to allow for appeal and “to prevent potential disruption to the functioning of the District and the National Guard.”
Cobb, in a 61-page opinion, concluded that the Trump administration exceeded its authority to deploy the National Guard to Washington, D.C. without the request of local officials. The judge concluded that although the Constitution grants authority over the district to Congress, that was delegated through home rule.
“Here, the state governors whose units are currently operating in the District lack authority to order these missions because the District has not properly sought their aid,” the judge wrote, citing local code and federal law.
Earlier this month, Kanawha Circuit Judge Richard Lindsay dismissed a state-level challenge to the deployment by concluding the president was within his authority to call the Guard to Washington, D.C., and the governor has been within his authority to deploy the West Virginia National Guard there.
Lindsay’s ruling weighed the unique federal oversight of the District of Columbia as a significant factor.
“I understand that the plaintiff wants to put aside the fact that this happened in D.C., or the fact that the president has the authority that he has when invoking a local statute in D.C. But I think those are important factors,” Lindsay said in the bench ruling.
“I believe we’re not talking about another state or sovereign like Pennsylvania or Ohio. We’re talking about the District of Columbia, which is under the federal jurisdiction of our Congress and government.”