The National Guard member who was fatally shot in D.C. initially hated the idea of being deployed to the nation’s capitol, but later had a change of heart and grew to enjoy the assignment, her former boyfriend said.
West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, joined the guard in June of 2023 to prepare for a future in federal law enforcement.
But when she got the call to come to D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime, her boyfriend at the time, Adam Carr, said she was not excited to go.
“She hated it. She was crying before she left, didn’t want to go and then she volunteered for longer. She really, really grew fond of being down there. Just volunteered for more time,” he said.
Officials said Beckstrom had signed up again less than 24 hours before she and another member of the Guard were gunned down in broad daylight.
Federal authorities said 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, shot Beckstrom and fellow West Virginia guardsman Andrew Wolfe of Martinsburg near the Farragut Square Metro station Wednesday afternoon.
Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Friday that Lakanwal will face more serious charges in Beckstrom’s killing.
“There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro said.
Beckstrom is from a tiny mountain town called Webster Springs.
She graduated with honors from Webster County High School in June 2023 and joined the National Guard about four weeks later. Beckstrom served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said in a statement.
“She exemplified leadership, dedication, and professionalism,” the statement said, adding that Beckstrom “volunteered to serve as part of Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful, helping to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s capital.”
Carr said she had embraced her assignment in D.C. and enjoyed taking in the sites.
“She would go to the monuments while patrolling on duty, and then on her own off time she would go visit.. museums and monuments on her own,” he said.
But Carr said she also expressed frustrations about how the guard was being treated and how they were mostly limited to being a presence in D.C.
“Even though they were deputized, she said people would spit at her, throw things at her and cuss her out and wish death upon them and just simply be outrageous and assault them, and they couldn’t do nothing about it because they had no leeway,” Carr said.
Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving Day. People lined the streets to honor her during a procession from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office.
Carr said they were together for six years and had only recently ended their relationship.
“Honestly, it’s just hard to react. Hard to grasp the concept and wrap my head around that it’s true,” he said.
One of Beckstrom’s friends and classmates remembered her surprise at how someone known as a “girly girl” ended up wearing camouflage and training with a gun. But they said it was all part of her big heart and desire to help others. Beckstrom had been in Washington, D.C., with her unit since the beginning of August.
After high school, Beckstrom ended up in Summersville, where she was a community engagement specialist with a clinic that provides services for teens and young adults with mental illnesses, substance abuse problems or developmental disabilities, Summersville Mayor Robert Shafter said in a statement on Facebook.
Summersville planned a candlelight vigil for her Saturday, Shafter said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has indicated that she will seek the death penalty in this case.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/acN10VI
0 Comments