What we're covering
• Immigration crackdown escalates: President Donald Trump said his administration will work to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” though it’s unclear precisely which countries he was referring to.
• National Guard killing: His comments came hours after he announced the death of a National Guard member following a shooting in which the suspect is an Afghan national. The suspect will face a murder charge, according to US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. Another Guard member remains in critical condition.
• Accelerating aftermath: Trump said the administration is looking into whether to deport the suspect’s family, and US agencies have announced reviews of asylum cases and some green card recipients.
Former boyfriend of National Guard member remembers her kind nature, love for hunting and fishing
The ex-boyfriend of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom took CNN to Salmon Run, a special spot in West Virginia where the two used to go to swim, fish, or just hang out during their six-year relationship.
Beckstrom died after she and another West Virginia National Guard member were shot by a gunman while on duty in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
“She was ecstatic, outgoing, a little more of a homebody, though,” her former boyfriend Adam Carr said of Beckstrom.
Carr also recounted Beckstrom’s passion for hunting and fishing.
“Last hunting season, she was ecstatic to go out. And when she got her first buck, she was beyond excited. I was getting letters about it and pictures, and she couldn’t explain how happy she was,” said Carr.
Beckstrom’s long-term goal was to join the FBI. “Criminal investigation and stuff like that, she was always intrigued by it,” he said.
“She just wanted to be a part of the change, be a part of the difference, and help people out,” Carr explained.
Despite hostility from the public that Carr said Beckstrom faced during her deployment to DC, she eventually enjoyed her experience and volunteered to stay longer. “She warmed up to it. She made more friends. Was going out, seeing things as they were patrolling. She was seeing monuments, enjoying it.”
West Virginia senator says National Guard needed to ensure safety in DC
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito today justified the presence of National Guard troops from her state in Washington, DC, after a shooting in the capital Wednesday left one member dead and another fighting for his life.
“The crime statistics are way down,” the Republican senator said on Fox News this morning after watching a montage of Democratic lawmakers criticizing Trump’s moves to bring troops into DC. “I wonder if my colleagues ever walked around the city and talked to the Guard members who were there.”
The two Guard members who were shot Wednesday in Washington, DC, had been on orders in the city since August, according to a statement from the West Virginia National Guard. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey sent deployed troops to DC in August at President Donald Trump’s request.
She added they were a “presence that were there to indicate to citizens, to visitors, to dignitaries, to whoever is in the capital city, that peace is there and you’re going to feel safe.”
Remember: During the summer, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the surge in federal law enforcement “enhanced” the capacity of local police officers and led to fewer crimes, but also added that it had also contributed to a “break in trust” between police and residents.
Trump on Wednesday called for 500 more troops to be sent to the capital, even as a federal judge considers the legality of the deployments. Last week, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s Defense Department illegally deployed the National Guard in the district. The order for that decision is delayed to allow time for an appeal.
What we know about National Guard shooting suspect
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national who US Attorney Jeanine Pirro says will face a charge of first-degree murder in the death of West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, first came to the US in September 2021, shortly after the chaotic US withdrawal from Kabul.
Lakanwal was one of more than 190,000 Afghans admitted to the US under Operation Allies Welcome and Enduring Welcome, according to the State Department. A senior US official told CNN Lakanwal began working with the CIA around 2011.
Despite the Trump administration’s claims to the contrary, Lakanwal was vetted several times, both while working with the US in his native country and in the process of immigrating. He also would have undergone continuous, annual vetting in the wake of the failed terror plot disrupted before the election last year in Oklahoma, which involved an Afghan evacuee, a senior US official told CNN.
He was granted asylum in April by the Trump administration, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN. Asked about that yesterday, President Donald Trump responded, “When they’re flown in, it’s very hard to get them out. No matter how you want to do it, it’s very hard to get them out.”
Lakanwal’s work history in the US is not fully known, but Amazon confirms that a person with that name was an independent contractor with the company for one month this past summer, working for their Amazon Flex delivery service.
Lakanwal lived with his wife and children in Bellingham, Washington, according to US Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
“What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital,” Pirro said.
The suspect shot Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe — who is still hospitalized in critical condition — with a revolver, said Pirro.
Lakanwal was shot by another member of the National Guard and is hospitalized under heavy security, authorities said.
Trump administration says vetting of suspect — who was approved for asylum in April — was insufficient
Trump administration officials continue to blame the Biden administration for admitting the suspected shooter of two members of the National Guard into the country after he worked with the CIA in Afghanistan.
“Let’s stop namby-pambying around with this, ‘Oh, he was vetted.’ There was no ‘vetted.’ The welcome mat was thrown down,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Fox News this morning.
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan national who officials say came to the US in 2021 under a program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. His application for asylum was approved this year by the Trump administration, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN.
Afghans admitted to the US under Operation Allies Welcome program did, in fact, go through vetting in addition to background checks already required for working with US government agencies. A senior US official told CNN yesterday, “He was clean on all checks.”
But Pirro argued there was no practical way to do an extensive background check on an applicant like Lakanwal following the chaotic US withdrawl.
“What do we do? Call the FBI in Afghanistan and say, ‘Gee, do you have anything on this guy?’” said Pirro.
Those who would attack service members are “trash at the highest level," West Virginia governor says
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey today said he continues to support the mission of the state’s National Guard members present in Washington, DC.
Morrisey’s comments came in the wake of the attack by a gunman Wednesday that killed one National Guard member and left another critically injured.
“When you have these terrorists, when you have these evildoers, you’re not going to back down when these people try to go after our servicemen and women,” the Republican told CNN’s Sara Sidner.
“The last thing in the world we should do, is turn around and reverse course and let the bad guys, let the evildoers win, because these are people that have violated every law and societal norm. They’re trash at the highest level. We cannot turn around and give in to them,” Morrisey said.
The West Virginia National Guard members in Washington volunteered for the mission, Morrisey noted. “They were there because they wanted to be.”
West Virginia Sen. Capito: "When this hits one West Virginian, it hits all"
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said the local communities of two members of the West Virginia National Guard who were shot in Washington, DC, are rallying together in the wake of Wednesday’s attack.
One Guard member was killed and another remains in critical condition after the shooting.
Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old Guard member from Summersville, West Virginia, died a day after she was shot.
US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, who was injured in the shooting on Wednesday, is hospitalized in critical condition after having surgery.
“Andrew went to Musselman High School from the eastern panhandle, near Martinsburg. His classmates, his teachers, his counselors, his principal, his family, have all been reaching out and trying to comfort one another,” Capito said.
Congressman on National Guard member: "He's the best of us here in West Virginia"
West Virginia US Rep. Riley Moore today praised US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who is fighting for his life after a gunman shot him in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
Moore said he knows Wolfe’s father, who serves as a deputy sheriff in the county next to his. “I talked to his parents yesterday,” Moore said during an interview with Fox Business.
“They’re asking all of us to just continue to pray for Andy. He is fighting. He’s a fighter. He’s the best of us here in West Virginia, and his parents are asking us just to continue to pray for his life,” Moore said.
The suspected gunman is 29-year-old Afghan national who was granted asylum this year.
Republican Moore criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal and immigration policies, advocating for stricter controls. “This Afghan national should have never been in our country to begin with,” he said.
National Guard shooting victim Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition
National Guard service member Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition after being shot Wednesday, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said this morning.
“We still have hope. He’s still in critical condition. We’re doing everything we can to assist his family to make sure they have everything they need during this difficult time for them,” Pirro said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
She added: “We are all praying for Andrew Wolfe.”
Wolfe, 24, has been a member of the West Virginia National Guard since 2019 and is assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing.
“Please keep my son in your prayers,” his father, Jason Wolfe, told CNN on Thursday.
His son is “a great person” and “he’s a fighter,” he said.
National Guard shooting suspect to face murder charge, prosecutor says
The man accused of shooting two members of the West Virginia National Guard will face a murder charge following the death of one of the victims, according to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
President Donald Trump announced the death of Sarah Beckstrom, 20, Thursday night.
Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said she intended to seek the death penalty against Rahmanullah Lakanwal if a Guard member died in the shooting.
Family and friends speak fondly of Guard members shot in DC
Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard member who died after she was shot in Washington, DC, on the day before Thanksgiving, had volunteered to continue serving there after initially dreading the assignment, according to her former boyfriend.
“I loved her to pieces,” Adam Carr told CNN. “She never deserved any of that. I always wished the best for her.”
Beckstrom had joined the Guard with the hopes of eventually working for the FBI, he said, calling her a “loving, caring person” who “had a huge heart.”
President Donald Trump announced her death Thursday evening, shortly before making his traditional round of Thanksgiving phone calls to troops around the world.
A second Guard member, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized in critical condition. His father, Jason Wolfe, called Andrew a “great person,” adding “he’s a fighter.”
“Please keep my son in your prayers,” he told CNN.
Andrew Wolfe’s next-door neighbor in Martinsburg, West Virginia, described the guardsman as a “great guy, great neighbor.”
“We’ve always looked out for each other, and that’s about being a good neighbor,” Michael Langone told CNN.
Video shows officers lining the streets in Washington, D.C. during the dignified transfer of West Virginia National Guard Member Sarah Beckstrom's remains from MedStar Washington Hospital.
In the aftermath of National Guard member's death, Trump is escalating his immigration crackdown. Here's the latest
Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old National Guard member deployed to Washington, DC, died a day after a gunman shot her. Another National Guard member is critically wounded.
The suspect in the shooting was identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal. In the wake of the shooting, President Donald Trump has called for an even more intense immigration crackdown.
Hours after announcing Beckstrom’s death, Trump said he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries.” It is not clear which countries he is referring to.
Catch up on the recent developments:
- Slain National Guard member mourned: Local and federal law enforcement agencies lined the streets in Washington, DC, as a procession passed to honour Beckstrom. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was also in attendance. Tributes, including from Trump’s administration, the West Virginia National Guard and her high school, have poured in. Trump spoke to her parents and indicated he would consider attending her funeral.
- Fighting for his life: US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, who was wounded in the shooting, is hospitalized in critical condition following surgery.
- Suspect’s background: The 29-year-old arrived in the US in 2021 under a program implemented by the Biden administration following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. A US official told CNN the suspect was “clean on all checks” before working with the government and again before coming to the US.
- Administration considers deporting suspect’s family: Lankawal resided in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and children. Trump said the administration is looking into whether to deport the family.
- Some green card recipients to be reviewed: The US will reexamine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries “of concern” at Trump’s direction, and is reviewing all asylum cases that were approved under former President Joe Biden.
- DC crackdown: Trump called for even more troops to be sent to the capital, even as a federal judge considers the legality of Trump’s National Guard deployment.
CNN’s Gabe Cohen, Nicky Robertson, Nicquel Terry Ellis, Lex Harvey, Chelsea Bailey and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this post.
Trump says US will "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries"
President Donald Trump said yesterday his administration will work to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.”
It’s unclear which countries Trump was referring to. “Third world countries,” used by some to define developing nations, has repeatedly been used by Trump as part of his anti-immigration rhetoric.
CNN has reached out the State Department and the White House for clarity.
The comments come after an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, in an attack that has added fuel to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump criticized multiple aspects of US immigration policy and those supporting refugees living in the US.
“Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many,” he wrote.
“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations.”
