National Guardsman shot in DC is ‘hanging on,’ family pleading for prayer, congressman says
The West Virginia National Guardsman who is in critical condition after being shot this week in Washington, D.C., is “hanging on,” a congressman told “FOX & Friends Weekend,” adding that his family is calling for prayer.
Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., said Saturday that the family of Andrew Wolfe, 24, is “committed to service.”
“His father is a deputy sheriff in the county next to mine and Andy wanted to follow in that footsteps and serve his nation as a National Guardsman,” Moore told “FOX & Friends Weekend.”
“Andy is hanging on. And he is a fighter and his family has told me that time and time again, he is a fighter,” Moore added. “But above all what they want here is for everybody to continue to pray. I believe in the power of prayer and I can promise you his parents believe in the power of prayer… Please keep praying.”
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West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey also told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday that, “Andrew is fighting for his life right now, and his family and all of his friends, they’re trying to harvest as many prayers as possible from all across the country, all across the globe, to help him recover.”
Morrisey said Wolfe’s condition, as of Saturday, “remains very serious.”
“West Virginia cares very deeply about its Guard. And there’s just a proud tradition of West Virginians who step up from military service. So when something like this happens, it’s really a gut punch to the communities,” Morrisey added.
“Most importantly, we need justice to be served. That’s critical. I think West Virginians are counting on that. Americans are counting on that,” he told Fox News.
National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of West Virginia, died after the shooting on Wednesday in the nation’s capital.
The alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, faces multiple charges, including one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the Justice Department would pursue the death penalty against the suspect.
Beckstrom and Wolfe are members of the West Virginia National Guard, which was deployed to the nation’s capital to tackle crime in the city following an executive order from President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Lakanwal entered the United States on the heels of the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 under the Biden administration. Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. a month later under “Operation Allies Welcome.”
“The president is taking the correct step by re-vetting these individuals. But in my view, he should have never been here. He should have never been in this country to begin with,” Moore said Saturday. “We had over 80,000 Afghan nationals piled into the United States, we don’t know these people. We don’t know who they are.”
“We have had terrorists come to the United States before. This is the first time that I can recall the United States government brought a terrorist into our country, into the United States,” he added. “After we had 13 of our service members killed at Abbey Gate, that continued failed policy just cost us another American life, by the Biden administration. We should not be in this position to begin with and beautiful young lady from West Virginia lost her life because of this failed policy by Joe Biden.”
Community members in Webster Springs, West Virginia, gathered Friday night for a vigil for Beckstrom and Wolfe.
Fox News’ Landon Mion, Stephen Sorace and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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