One of the two members of the National Guard who were shot in Washington DC on Wednesday has died, US President Donald Trump said.
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries, President Trump said on Thursday evening.
The second National Guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, “is fighting for his life”, he said.
Both were shot at close range near Farragut Square in downtown just after 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Police have arrested one suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old from Afghanistan.
President Trump confirmed Ms Beckstrom’s death while on a Thanksgiving call with US service members.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person … She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us,” he said.
Trump later spoke with her parents, a White House official told BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Ms Beckstrom had enlisted on 26 June 2023 and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia Army National Guard.
She had volunteered to work in the nation’s capital over the American Thanksgiving holiday, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News after the shooting.
Jim Justice, a Republican senator from West Virginia, said he was “absolutely devastated” to learn of Ms Beckstrom’s passing.
“Our prayers are with her family, friends, and fellow guardsmen during an incredibly difficult Thanksgiving Day,” he said in a statement.
“We are also lifting up Andrew Wolfe in prayer as he continues his journey to recovery.”
(BBC)