The two National Guard members shot in Washington, D.C. in November will receive the Purple Heart, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Friday.
Hegseth announced the awards while speaking to National Guard members on the National Mall. U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, both members of the West Virginia National Guard, were shot on Nov. 27. Beckstrom, 20, died of her wounds. Wolfe, 24, is continuing to get medical care but is recovering. Hegseth said that they are both “soon-to-be Purple Heart recipients.”
Beckstrom and Wolfe were shot outside a Washington, D.C. Metro station the day before Thanksgiving. A suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, shot the two in the head before being shot and restrained by other troops. Lakanwal, an Afghan national who worked with the CIA as part of Afghan “zero unit,” came to the United States in 2021.
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The Purple Heart is reserved for troops wounded or killed by enemy action, almost exclusively in combat areas abroad. Domestic incidents resulting in Purple Hearts are rare, and the medal has been given to people wounded or killed in terrorist attacks on U.S. installations. The Trump administration has repeatedly called Lakanwal a terrorist, although without naming any group he is with. On Friday Hegseth called Lakanwal a “radical,” as part of the reason for awarding Purple Hearts.
Prosecutors specifically describe his attack as an “ambush” on the National Guard members, who were stationed outside of a Metro station in the city. On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Lakanwal pleaded not guilty to the nine federal charges against him, in his first court appearance. The administration halted visa applications for Afghans to the United States in the aftermath of the shooting, which veterans groups say hurts Afghan allies who worked with Americans during the war.
Members of the West Virginia National Guard are in D.C. as part of a federal mission aimed at addressing what the administration claims are high levels of crime in the district. Several states have sent hundreds of troops to support federal law enforcement deployed around the capital, although the National Guard has largely spent its time patrolling federal parks and buildings.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey had formally requested the two Guardsmen receive the Purple Heart in December. On Friday he commended the move, saying their service in Washington, D.C. “meet the highest standards for this recognition.”
“This announcement brings long-overdue honor to their service, offers meaning and reassurance to their families, and stands as a solemn reminder that West Virginia will never forget those who sacrifice in defense of others,” Morrisey said in a statement posted to X.
There are currently 2,654 National Guard troops taking part in the federal mission in Washington, D.C. as of Friday, according to the task force overseeing it. That includes 703 from the District of Columbia National Guard and 1,951 from 11 states. 170 West Virginia National Guard members remain in D.C. Last month the military extended the deployment of National Guard forces to the capital through the end of 2026, according to several outlets.
