OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
8:51 AM – Thursday, November 27, 2025
The two members of the West Virginia National Guard, both newly sworn-in, still remain in critical condition on Thursday as of 8:40 a.m. PT, after being shot in what authorities are investigating as a “targeted ambush” just blocks from the White House. Both have also been identified by D.C. authorities.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro identified the victims during a Thursday morning press conference as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of Webster Springs, West Virginia, and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe.
Pirro blamed the Biden administration’s disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the subsequent Operation Allies Welcome program for allowing the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, to enter the United States.
“You picked the wrong target, the wrong city and the wrong country and you will be sorry for the violence and the evil you perpetrated in our nation’s capital,” she declared in the presser.
“Both Sarah and Andrew were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington,” Pirro revealed.
Wolfe’s former high school also posted a message for the brave 24-year-old National Guardsman on Facebook.
“Our Applemen community is deeply saddened to learn that Musselman High School alumnus, Andrew Wolfe, was one of the National Guardsmen injured in the shooting in Washington, D.C. today,” Musselman High School in West Virginia posted on Facebook — per the New York Post.
The attack occurred at around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday near the Farragut West metro station in downtown D.C. Both soldiers, who were in uniform and on foot patrol, were struck multiple times, including in the head, chest, and torso. The two were quickly rushed to a local hospital, where they underwent emergency surgery.
As of Thursday evening, hospital officials still described their conditions as critical.
The suspected gunman, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was stabbed and shot by responding officers and taken into custody. Lakanwal resides in the state of Washington with his wife and five children.
The Afghan national is still hospitalized, though in stable condition, and he now faces federal charges. Although Lakanwal’s permission to stay in the U.S. expired in September 2023, he applied for asylum in 2024, and his application was eventually granted earlier this year, a DHS official told CBS.
Lakanwal faces the following charges:
- Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
- Criminal possession of a weapon.
- Possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Officials also emphasized that the charges will be upgraded to first-degree murder if either of the wounded Guardsmen do not survive their injuries. He currently faces 15 years behind bars just for his first charge: Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Prosecutors will follow the wellbeing of the soldiers before announcing any other charges, she added.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has reportedly taken the lead in the investigation, and the agency is treating the incident as a potential act of terrorism, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. No motive has been publicly disclosed.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program for Afghans who assisted American forces. He was granted asylum in April 2025 and held a green card at the time of the shooting. U.S. officials confirmed he previously served in Afghanistan’s elite Commando Corps and that he also worked with a CIA-backed military unit.
President Donald Trump, responding to the attack, ordered an immediate review of vetting procedures for all Afghan evacuees and other “allies” now resettled in the United States.
During a Wednesday night press conference, Trump described the attack as “an act of terror” in a brief video address, framing it as a “heinous assault” and an ambush-style attack. The video was posted to White House social media channels at around 9 p.m. ET from Palm Beach, Florida, where the president is spending Thanksgiving. In it, he also ordered an additional 500 troops to be deployed to D.C.
West Virginia GOP Governor Jim Justice has also called the incident “absolutely sickening” while urging the nation to pray for the young soldiers’ recovery.
However, both soldiers’ families have requested privacy as they remain at their bedsides in Washington.
Federal authorities say additional charges, including terrorism-related counts, are probable as the investigation continues. Lakanwal is expected to make his initial court appearance once medically cleared.
The White House and surrounding areas remain under heightened security on Thursday as the nation celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday.
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