Remembrance: Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom

On November 26 2025, 20-year-old Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Air National Guard Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe were conducting a presence patrol in Washington, D.C. The pair were part of a joint task force, activated to assist local and federal law enforcement with crime in the District of Columbia. While patrolling near Farragut Square, the service members were ambushed by an assailant armed with a gun. Both were shot and gravely wounded in the unprovoked and targeted attack.

Despite intensive lifesaving efforts, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom succumbed to her wounds the following day. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe remains hospitalized in critical condition and fighting for his life. The gunman, identified as an Afghan national, was shot in the exchange and subdued by other Guard members at the scene. He has since been charged with first-degree murder and several additional offenses.

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom served with distinction as a Military Police Officer assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia National Guard. She enlisted in 2023 at the age of 18, just four weeks after graduating with honors from Webster County High School. Driven by a desire to one day have a career with the FBI, she viewed military service as a path toward achieving that goal.

Before deploying to D.C. in August, Sarah worked as a community engagement specialist at a behavioral health center back in West Virginia, where she helped individuals with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

Specialist Beckstrom reportedly volunteered to take the patrol shift on the day she was gunned down so a fellow soldier could spend Thanksgiving with their family.