The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old married father of five from Bellingham, Washington, allegedly drove cross-country to commit the Thanksgiving eve shooting in the heart of the nation’s capital, officials said.
Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, members of the West Virginia National Guard were “ambushed” while conducting “high visibility patrols” at the time of the attack, according to law enforcement officials. The 20-year-old Beckstrom was killed while the 24-year-old Wolfe was critically injured, authorities said.
During a news conference on Monday afternoon, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Wolfe is in serious condition and is “fighting for his life.”
Morrisey revealed “some positive news” about Wolfe’s condition, saying that when a nurse asked him to give a thumbs up if he could hear, “he did respond.”
“We were told that he also wiggled his toes,” Morrisey said. “So, we take that as a positive sign.”
