National Guard wounded in terrorist attack near White House dies; Trump says Sarah Beckstrom was 20 years old

News Topical, Digital Desk : Two National Guardsmen were injured in an attack by an Afghan civilian near the White House in the US. One of the soldiers, Sarah Beckstrom, has died. The other soldier is fighting for his life in critical condition, US President Donald Trump said.

Trump blamed Biden-era immigration screening failures for the "terrorist attack" near the White House in the US and ordered a full investigation into asylum cases. Trump said Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds and her fellow Guardsman, Andrew Wolff, 24, was "fighting for his life".

"Beckstrom is no longer with us, but she must be watching over us from above. Her parents are with her," Trump said.

Part of a CIA-backed unit before coming to the US

The FBI searched several properties as it expanded the investigation, including a home in Washington state linked to the suspect, who officials said was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan before coming to the US in 2021 under a resettlement program.

Several electronic devices were seized.

FBI Director Kash Patel told a press conference that agents seized several electronic devices from the home of the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, including cellphones, laptops and iPads, and questioned his relatives. Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, DC, said the suspect drove across the country and then attacked Guard members patrolling near the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

terrorist attack

"I want to share the sadness and horror of our entire nation that yesterday a terrorist attack occurred in our nation's capital, in which a savage monster shot two service members of the West Virginia National Guard who were deployed as part of the DC Task Force," Trump said in a Thanksgiving call to US military service members.

Joe Biden accused

Blaming the administration of his White House predecessor, President Joe Biden, Trump said the alleged gunman, whom he described as a "crazy man," was one of thousands of Afghans who were let in without vetting during the US's chaotic 2021 evacuation.

He said the suspect's "excesses remind us that there is no greater national security priority than maintaining complete control over the people who come to and live in our country." Armed with a powerful .357 Magnum revolver, the gunman shot one member who fell and then fired again before shooting another member multiple times. The gunman was wounded in a shootout with Guard members before being arrested.

Speaking to reporters, Trump reiterated Pirro and Patel's allegations that the Biden administration was responsible for policies they said allowed Afghan immigrants into the US, but offered no evidence to support his claims.

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