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Beckstrom, 20, died after suffering ‘mortal wound’ while colleague Andrew Wolfe, 24, still ‘fighting for his life,’ the president said
Ariana Baio,Mike Bedigan,Arpan Rai,Joe SommerladFriday 28 November 2025 10:10 GMT
CloseDonald Trump announces death of National Guard member after Washington shooting
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National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, who was shot outside of a Washington, D.C., Metro station in a “savage” gun attack Wednesday, has died of her injuries, President Donald Trump has announced.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023 outstanding in every way. She’s just passed away,” Trump said in a Thanksgiving call to service members.
“She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. She was savagely attacked, she’s dead now.”
Andrew Wolfe, the other soldier shot in the incident, is still “fighting for his life,” the president said, adding: “He’s in very bad shape... hopefully we’ll get better news with respect to him.”
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspected shooter taken into custody, is a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the U.S. in September 2021. He was living in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children, according to officials.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Trump ordered Citizenship and Immigration Services to conduct a “rigorous” re-examination of people from 19 “countries of concern.”
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Key Points
- Donald Trump announces National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom has died of injuries
- Trump announces pause on migration from ‘Third World Countries’ in unhinged Thanksgiving message
- President boasts about his electoral record in West Virginia when asked about attending Beckstrom’s funeral
- Trump slams reporter who asked why he blamed Joe Biden: ‘Are you stupid?’
- Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal worked with CIA in Afghanistan
Trump brags about his golf game after announcing soldier’s death
In another moment in which the president veered alarmingly and inappropriately from the topic at hand, the president found time to boast about his performance on the links.
Joe Sommerlad28 November 2025 10:10Trump boasts about his electoral record in West Virginia when asked about attending Beckstrom’s funeral
Let’s get back to yesterday’s press event at Mar-a-Lago, where the president did not give a definite answer on whether he would pay his respects to the fall soldier in person but did take the opportunity to brag about his past performance in the polls in her home state.
Joe Sommerlad28 November 2025 09:50Trump announces pause on migration from ‘Third World Countries’ in unhinged Thanksgiving message
After yesterday’s press event (more on which in a moment), the president posted a shockingly dystopian message on Truth Social and X in which he complained that the “refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America” and announced a stop to migration from “all Third World Countries.”
It began:
“A very Happy Thanksgiving salutation to all of our Great American Citizens and Patriots who have been so nice in allowing our Country to be divided, disrupted, carved up, murdered, beaten, mugged, and laughed at, along with certain other foolish countries throughout the World, for being “Politically Correct,” and just plain STUPID, when it comes to Immigration.”
He continued:
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
In the course of it, he repeated his baseless attack on Minnesota’s Somali community, called the state’s governor Tim Walz “seriously retarded” and issued a racist slur against Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whom he said is “always wrapped in her swaddling hijab, and who probably came into the U.S.A. illegally.”
You can read it in its entirety here:
Joe Sommerlad28 November 2025 09:30Recap: Donald Trump announces National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom has died of injuries
President Donald Trump has announced that National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, who was shot outside of a Washington, D.C., Metro station in in a “savage” gun attack Wednesday, has died of her injuries.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023 outstanding in every way. She’s just passed away,” Trump said in a Thanksgiving call to service members from his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, last night.
“She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. She was savagely attacked, she’s dead now.”
Andrew Wolfe, the other soldier shot in the incident, is still “fighting for his life,” the president said, adding: “He’s in very bad shape... hopefully we’ll get better news with respect to him.”
Trump announces death of National Guard member after Washington shootingJoe Sommerlad28 November 2025 09:10Refugee groups worry about backlash after shooting of National Guard soldiers in DC
People who work with refugees are worried that those who fled dangerous situations to start again in America will face backlash after authorities say an Afghan national shot two National Guard soldiers this week.
Many Afghans living in the U.S. are afraid to leave their houses, fearing they’ll be swept up by immigration officials or attacked with hate speech, said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based group #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.
“They’re terrified. It’s insane," VanDiver told the Associated Press Thursday. “People are acting xenophobic because of one deranged man. He doesn’t represent all Afghans. He represents himself.”
Refugee groups worry about backlash after shooting of National Guard soldiers in DC
People who work with refugees are worried about backlash after authorities say an Afghan national shot National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., this weekArpan Rai28 November 2025 08:50Trump suspends all Afghan immigration requests after National Guard shooting in DC
The U.S. has suspended all immigration requests from Afghans after two National Guardsmen were shot in Washington, D.C., in an attack described by Donald Trump as an “act of terror”.
An Afghan man was identified as the suspect in the shooting near the White House on Wednesday. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said immigration requests have been stopped “indefinitely” with the decision made pending a review of “security and vetting protocols”.
The move follows Trump’s call for his government to re-examine Afghan immigrants who entered the United States when Joe Biden was president.
Trump suspends all Afghan immigration requests after National Guard shooting in DC
The president had called for authorities to re-examine Afghan immigrants who entered the country during the Biden administrationArpan Rai28 November 2025 08:30Trump rips suspected DC shooter who left two National Guard members hurt in ‘monstrous ambush-style attack’
Donald Trump ripped into the suspect who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., in what the president described as a “monstrous ambush-style attack.”
Trump, who has been in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, said in an address on Wednesday night, “I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.”
Rahmanullah Lakanwal: Who is the suspect in Washington DC National Guard shooting?
Two National Guard soldiers were shot during the ‘ambush style attack’ in Washington. A 29-year-old Afghan national has been detainedArpan Rai28 November 2025 08:00In photos: Who is Sarah Beckstorm, the national guard killed in the D.C. shooting?
A picture of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom is displayed at a press conference (U.S. Attorney's Office)
Sarah Beckstrom during her graduation ceremony (Webster County high School/ Sarah Beckstrom/ Facebook)
Brigadier General Leland D. Blanchard II looks towards pictures of two National Guard members who were shot in Washington (Reuters)Arpan Rai28 November 2025 07:40Trump threatens ban on migrants from 'third world countries' but details remain unclear
Donald Trump has announced that his administration will "permanently pause" migration from all "Third World Countries".
Trump did not identify any countries by name or explain what he meant by third-world countries or "permanently pause".
He said the plan would include cases approved under former President Joe Biden's administration.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States," he said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump said he would end all federal benefits and subsidies for "non-citizens", adding he would "denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility" and deport any foreign national deemed a public charge, security risk, or "non-compatible with Western civilization”.
Trump's comments followed the death of a National Guard member who had been shot near the White House in an ambush investigators say was carried out by an Afghan national.
Arpan Rai28 November 2025 07:04