One of the West Virginia National Guard members who was shot by an Afghan refugee on Wednesday has died, and another is fighting for his life.

President Trump broke the sad news on Thanksgiving, confirming that Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had succumbed to mortal injuries sustained in the ambush-style attack a day earlier just blocks from the White House.

“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now,” Trump said. “Incredible person, outstanding in every single way.”

Gunman a foreigner

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old alleged gunman, was one of thousands who fled Afghanistan as part of the Biden administration's chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal, the New York Post reports.

The suspect opened fire with a revolver near the Farragut West Metro Station, striking Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, 24, who was also critically injured, NBC reported.

Both were sworn in less than 24 hours before the attack, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Thursday.

The police searched the gunman's home on Wednesday in Bellingham, Washington, where he had been resettled. While his motive is unclear, Pirro said he drove across the country from Washington state to carry out his targeted attack.

"We intend to continue monitoring what the charges will be depending upon the well-being of the guardsmen. We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not that will certainly be the charge murder in the first degree," she said.

Biden's Afghanistan debacle

Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a refugee program for vulnerable Afghans, including those who partnered with the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan. CIA director John Ratcliffe said the suspect worked with a CIA-backed military unit.

The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan marked a turning point for the Biden presidency, which was left indelibly tarnished by images of chaos as the U.S. scrambled to escape a Taliban coup that ended 20 years of war.

13 U.S. soldiers lost their lives in a terrorist attack at Kabul's airport during the desperate, botched evacuation.

Shooting highlights "threat"

Wednesday's shooting proves that Biden's disastrous presidency is still having an impact, Trump said in an impromptu speech pledging to "re-examine" each of the thousands of Afghans who entered the United States under his predecessor.

The United States is also suspending all immigration requests from Afghanistan for now, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said.

"This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation. The last administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners from all over the world," Trump said.

Republicans have long criticized Biden's Afghan resettlement efforts, warning they lacked significant vetting and posed a security risk to Americans.

Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved this year, a Trump official told Reuters, noting the man had no known criminal history. Democrats have vehemently criticized Trump for targeting illegal immigrants who lack criminal records, accusing him of violating a supposed pledge to deport the "worst of the worst."

Trump has ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to D.C. in the wake of the attack, which comes after months of Democratic rhetoric condemning Trump's "authoritarian" National Guard deployments to crime-ridden cities across the country.