Officials ID wounded National Guard members on job less than 24 hours before DC ambush as probe intensifies

The two National Guards members shot just blocks from the White House the day before Thanksgiving in what leaders called a targeted attack have been identified Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe were in critical condition after undergoing surgery U S Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro noted during a press conference Thursday morning I also want to say that both Sarah and Andrew I believe were sworn in less than hours before they were shot on the street in Washington Pirro noted Beckstrom and Wolfe are members of the West Virginia National Guard which was deployed to the nation s capital to tackle crime in the city following an executive order from President Donald Trump earlier this year ALLEGED NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTER WORKED WITH US ADMINISTRATION ENTITIES IN AFGHANISTAN INCLUDING CIA RATCLIFFE They answered the call They took the charge They volunteered They put their lives on the line for people they don't even know Pirro explained of the two Guard members Pirro spoke Thursday morning alongside FBI Director Kash Patel D C Mayor Muriel Bowser and Brig General Leland Blanchard of the National Guard She provided new details about the shooting including the weapon used by the suspect Beckstrom and Wolfe were in uniform near the Farragut West Metro station around p m Wednesday when they were ambushed in a brazen and targeted attack Pirro announced WHO IS THE DC NATIONAL GUARDSMEN SHOOTING SUSPECT WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AFGHAN NATIONAL RAHMANULLAH LAKANWAL A lone gunman opened fire without provocation ambush style she explained Armed with a Smith and Wesson revolver one Guardsman is struck goes down and then the shooter leans over and strikes the Guardsmen again Another Guardsman is struck several times Pirro declared that other nearby Guardsmen directly rushed the suspect One responding Guardsman shot the suspect who was hastily subdued The suspect identified as -year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal was taken to a local hospital where he remains under heavy guard according to Pirro Executives are probing the shooting as a practicable act of international terrorism Patel declared he spoke with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirming that the suspect had a relationship in Afghanistan with U S partner forces We are fully exploring that aspect of his background as well to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America he commented ALLEGED DC SHOOTER ENTERED US UNDER AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT PUSH MAYORKAS VOWED WOULD BE DONE SWIFTLY AND SAFELY'Lakanwal entered the U S legally in under humanitarian parole as part of the Biden administration's Operation Allies Welcome following the U S withdrawal from Afghanistan He had his asylum application approved during the Trump administration Patel explained federal officials have executed multiple search warrants across the country including at Lakanwal s last known residence in Bellingham Washington During that process we seized numerous electronic devices to include cell phones laptops iPads and other material that is being analyzed as we speak he declared Patel announced that evidence ascertained in Washington state led investigators to San Diego where they are interviewing multiple subjects Pursuant to that review in Washington and any known associates of the subject and of that house is how we ended up in San Diego where interviews were conducted and are going to be continued to be conducted Patel added And we will go anywhere in the country or the world where the evidence leads us