D.C. National Guard shooting investigation live updates as suspect faces murder charge

The gun used in the attack was not registered to the suspect, according to investigators. Instead, the gun belonged to a deceased Washington state resident, investigators said.

Authorities said the suspect drove from Washington state to Washington, DC. The gun was loaded with only four rounds at the time of the shooting, authorities said. Authorities said the number of bullets was unusual and remained unexplained.

By Nicole Sganga and Camilo Montoya-Galvez

Several U.S. officials told CBS News that the suspect had been part of CIA-backed operational teams for about eight years. He suffered from PTSD, officials said.

The suspect and his family fled Taliban threats in Afghanistan’s Khost province and moved to Kabul before being transferred to the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome in 2021.

The suspect entered the United States under a parole program, an official told CBS News, not through the longer special immigrant visa process historically required for Afghan military partners.

Despite operational controls conducted during the war, which were largely intended to ensure that partner Afghan forces would not turn their weapons on U.S. personnel, former intelligence officials say the control was never intended to serve as immigration clearance.

By Nicole Sganga and Camilo Montoya-Galvez

An image of an ID badge circulating widely online showing the suspicious said he was assigned to the “Kandahar Strike Force” or “03”, one of several so-called “Zero” units that worked closely with the United States and other foreign forces during the war in Afghanistan. A former high-ranking Afghan military source confirmed to CBS News that the ID badge is authentic.

A U.S. official briefed on the investigation into the shooting and a former senior official in the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces told CBS News that the suspect was part of a “Zero Unit,” an Afghan intelligence unit and paramilitary force that worked with the CIA. They were considered by the United States and its international partners to be one of the most reliable national forces in Afghanistan.

These units are often referred to as “death squads” by human rights groups. The units were known in Afghanistan for their secrecy and alleged brutality, and their members were involved in numerous extrajudicial killings of civilians, including during nighttime raids.

The U.S. official briefed on the investigation confirmed that the suspect had been disturbed by losses in that unit and, more recently, deeply troubled by the killing of his close friend overseas.

Learn more here.

By Ahmad Mukhtar and Nicole Sganga

Beckstrom’s body was transferred from the hospital where she died to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington on Thursday evening, the National Guard told CBS News.

Beckstrom received an honor escort, also known as a procession of fallen soldiers. Photos show American soldiers lined up along the procession route.

The procession symbolizes “the nation’s gratitude for a life given in service,” according to the Ministry of Defense.

Pirro said Wolfe remains in critical condition. She did not share any details.

“We still have hope,” she said on Fox News.

Wolfe underwent surgery after the shooting. Mr. Trump said Thursday that he was “fighting for his life.” Pirro said the government was supporting his family “during this difficult time.”

Lakanwal will be charged with first-degree murder, Pirro said during an appearance on Fox & Friends Friday morning. She called Beckstrom’s killing a “premeditated murder.”

More charges could follow as the investigation unfolds, she said.

“This is a case that touched the hearts of so many Americans because being shot in the street during the national holiday is a scandal,” Pirro said. “The individual who did this will pay the ultimate price, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi, as he should.”

Pirro declined to discuss details of the investigation, but said “nothing will be left to chance.”

“We will know everything we need to know. Now is not the time to share this. When the time comes, we will share it,” she said.

In a statement confirming his death Thursday evening, the commander of Joint Task Force District of Columbia praised Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom as “heroine”.

“This is a devastating loss for our National Guard family,” Col. Larry Doane said in a statement. “SPC. Sarah Beckstrom came to the District from West Virginia to make our nation’s capital safe and beautiful. She is a hero and we mourn her passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones and the West Virginia National Guard.”

Beckstrom enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard in June 2023. She served as a military police soldier with the 863rd Military Police Company.

One of two members of the National Guard who was shot to death Wednesday in Washington, D.C., is “fighting for his life,” President Trump told reporters Thursday.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is “in very bad shape,” Mr. Trump said. “I hope we get better news about him.”

Earlier Thursday, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Wolfe was in critical condition after undergoing surgery.

The second victim, a 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries, Mr. Trump said.

Law enforcement sources told CBS News that the two men were patrolling outside a downtown Washington, D.C., subway station when a gunman opened fire in what sources described as a “clear ambush” and “calculated attack.”

One of the National Guard members who was shot, 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom has died, President Trump announced Thursday.

“Right now, I hear that Sarah Beckstrom from West Virginia, one of the guards that we’re talking about, a very respected person, young, beautiful, started her service in June 2023, exceptional in every way, she just passed away,” Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday evening.

A White House official later said the president spoke with Beckstrom’s parents Thursday evening.

A common theory among investigators is that the suspect in the shootings of the two National Guard members suffered from paranoia and other mental health issues that indicated he believed authorities were seeking to deport him from the United States, multiple law enforcement sources told CBS News on Thursday.

By Nicole Sganga and Pat Milton

Several members of the suspect’s family in Washington state were questioned by investigators following a search of the suspect’s home in Bellingham, multiple law enforcement sources told CBS News.

Federal law enforcement, led by the FBI, is reviewing and analyzing the suspect’s digital footprint, the sources said. No other suspects have been identified in connection with the shooting.

By Nicole Sganga and Pat Milton