President Donald Trump announced [1] on Thanksgiving that 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries following the ambush-style shooting near the White House on Wednesday.
Trump made the announcement during holiday remarks, confirming that Beckstrom, who had been critically wounded, passed away earlier in the day.
NEW: President Trump announces that National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom has sadly passed away.
Beckstrom was shot by a suspected Afghan national.
“Seconds before I went on right now, I heard that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia… highly respected, young magnificent person…”… pic.twitter.com/de6dFA9766 [2]
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 28, 2025 [3]
Beckstrom was among the Guard personnel assigned to duties in the area on Wednesday.
According to officials, she had volunteered to work the shift so that others could spend the holiday with their families.
She sustained what her father described as a “mortal wound” during the attack and died on Thanksgiving.
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 [4]
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 27, 2025 [5]
Attorney General Pam Bondi discussed Beckstrom’s service during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday.
“She volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving — working today — she volunteers, as did many of those guardsmen and women so other people could be home with their families,” Bondi said.
HEARTBREAKING: The female National Guard member who was shot in DC VOLUNTEERED to specifically serve in Washington DC on Thanksgiving
PAM BONDI: “The young woman volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving, working today. As did many of those Guardsmen and women, so others… pic.twitter.com/a3nrdgIiBU [6]
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 27, 2025 [7]
Authorities identified the suspect in the shooting as an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021.
Officials confirmed that he was brought into the country during the Afghan evacuation that occurred that year.
The attack on Wednesday left two National Guard members wounded before Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing, with federal and local agencies continuing to review the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
In statements shared throughout the day, messages of support were directed to Beckstrom’s family and to members of the National Guard who were present during the attack.
The acknowledgment of her service highlighted that she had taken on the assignment voluntarily, as noted by officials who spoke after the announcement of her passing.
The broader context of the incident includes the entry of thousands of Afghans into the United States in 2021.
/1 BREAKING
The Biden-Harris admin claimed that they were importing Afghans as refugees who helped the U.S. gov’t, when in reality, officials admit in newly obtained docs from litigation that they did not know their identities. Some have allegedly committed heinous crimes: pic.twitter.com/NZdCSYZ6GC [8]
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) August 26, 2024 [9]