Father of National Guard Member Shot in Washington, D.C., Says She Is Not Expected to Survive

This is truly tragic.

The father of the National Guardswomen who was shot by an Afghan national just blocks away from the White House on Wednesday has revealed his daughter is not expected to recover.

While speaking to the New York Times, Gary Beckstrom, the father of U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, revealed his daughter has a “mortal wound.”

The New York Times broke the story and provided quotes from Beckstrom’s father:

Officials identified the Guard members as U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, and U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20.

Sergeant Wolfe, of Martinsburg, W.Va., entered the service on Feb. 5, 2019, and was assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard.

Specialist Beckstrom, of Summersville, W.Va., started her service on June 6, 2023, and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia Army National Guard. Both had been deployed to Washington since August, when President Trump ordered troops to the capital as part of what his administration described as a crackdown on crime.

Specialist Beckstrom’s father said his daughter was unlikely to recover. “I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom said when reached by phone. “She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.” He declined to speak further.

🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: National Guardsmen Sarah Beckstrom is NOT expected to survive, her father Gary told NYT

“I’m holding her hand right now. She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”

Absolutely heartbreaking.

Pray for a MIRACLE and the Beckstrom family today 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/QyA6pZqrDd

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 27, 2025

Newsweek reported more on Beckstrom and Wolfe’s current conditions:

Attorney General Pam Bondi previously spoke about Beckstrom in an interview with Fox News, without naming her, saying: “She volunteered to work on Thanksgiving—working today, as did many other guardsmen and women so that other people could be at home with their families. Yet now their families are in hospital rooms with them, while they are fighting for their lives,” she added. “Everyone just pray today for these two soldiers.”

Another wounded Guard member, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is in critical condition, officials said.

“All we need right now are prayers for my son,” a man at Wolfe’s home told the Times.

They are both members of the West Virginia National Guard, which sent hundreds of troops to the nation’s capital as part of President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting mission that included taking control of the local police department. Nearly 2,200 Guard personnel were deployed to Washington for the operation.

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