1 hour ago
3
Donald Trump said on Sunday that he invited the family of a national guard member fatally shot last week to the White House, adding that he spoke to her parents and they were “devastated”.
US army specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in a shooting on Wednesday in Washington DC. Her fellow service member, US air force staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Vigils across West Virginia have taken place in their memory.
The president said he’s discussed a White House 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,” Trump told reporters. “And likewise with Andrew, recover or not.”
Mourners came together over the weekend at Webster County high school in West Virginia to honor Beckstrom. Both she and Wolfe had been serving with the West Virginia national guard as part of Trump’s federal initiative to support policing efforts in DC.
“Sarah was the kind of student that teachers hoped for. She carried herself with quiet strength, a contagious smile and a positive energy that lifted people around her,” Jarrod Hankins, the principal of Beckstrom’s former high school, told the Associated Press. “She was sweet, caring and always willing to help others.”
Funeral details for Beckstrom are still being arranged.
Authorities have charged a 29-year-old Afghan national with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. The incident led the Trump administration to suspend asylum processing and temporarily stop issuing visas to holders of Afghan passports.
Wolfe, a native of Martinsburg, began his service in February 2019 and is a 2019 graduate of Musselman high school, according to the AP. He continues to receive treatment and is “fighting for his life”, West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey said on Fox News Channel’s The Sunday Briefing.
Attorney general Pam Bondi told Fox News Sunday that she also intended to meet with Wolfe’s family.
Beckstrom, from Summersville, graduated from Webster County high school in June 2023 and enlisted soon after, serving as a military police officer with distinction, according to the West Virginia national guard.
“She had a lot of kindness and she certainly had courage,” Morrisey told the crowd at the vigil. “Though her life lasted far too short, she has left a mark that’s going to last forever.”
