U.S. National Guard member dies from injuries in attack near White House

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that one of the two U.S. National Guard soldiers who were shot near the White House one day earlier has died.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries, while her fellow, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition, Trump said in a video as part of his Thanksgiving address to U.S. troops.

Trump said he had been told of Beckstrom's death seconds before fronting the media. The female soldier was from the state of West Virginia and started service in June 2023.

The attack took place at around 14:15 local time (19:15 GMT) on Wednesday near the Farragut Square Metro Station, according to Joint Task Force D.C., which oversees the National Guard deployments to Washington.

The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 and had worked with the CIA previously in Afghanistan, local media reported. He was shot by another service member and is in custody.

The alleged shooter drove across the country to the U.S. capital from his home in Bellingham, Washington state, according to the U.S. attorney for the D.C.

A U.S. official told CNN that Lakanwal was "clean on all checks" before working with the CIA and again before moving to the United States.

Trump on Wednesday described the attack as "an act of terror," vowing to "re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan" during former President Joe Biden's administration and take measures to remove anyone "who does not belong here or add benefit to our country."

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said day that it has halted all immigration processing related to Afghan nationals indefinitely.

Joseph Edlow, director of the USCIS, announced on Thursday that he had "directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination" of green card holders from 19 "countries of concern," including Afghanistan, at the direction of Trump.