Father of slain National Guard member calls daughter's death 'horrible tragedy' in emotional post

WASHINGTON, DC: The father of late Sarah Beckstrom, one of the National Guard members who was recently shot, shared his thoughts on Facebook on Thursday, November 28, 2025. 

He wrote that his “baby girl” had passed to “glory” and termed the incident a “horrible tragedy.”

Gary Beckstrom previously revealed Sarah would not recover 

On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, members of the National Guard deployed in Washington, DC, were ambushed by an Afghan native near the White House. Both members of the National Guard were rushed to the hospital, and Wolfe remains in critical condition. 

However, Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries on November 28, 2025. She was admitted to the hospital soon after the attack and was accompanied by her family, who spent their last Thanksgiving with their daughter. The New York Times reported that they had reached out to Sarah’s father before she died, and at the time, Gary Beckstrom briefly informed the publication of her injuries.

“I’m holding her hand right now. She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery,” he had said at the time. 

In his Facebook post after his daughter’s passing, Gary Beckstrom asked people not to be offended if he didn’t speak to them during the difficult time. 

Ex-boyfriend remembers Sarah Beckstrom as 'one of the most forgiving people'

The slain National Guard member, specialist Sarah Beckstrom’s ex-boyfriend, Adam Carr, described Sarah as “one of the most forgiving people.” He added that she would have done “anything for you” even if she didn’t know “you.”

During his conversation with NBC News, Carr further revealed that Sarah didn’t initially want to go to Washington as she didn’t want to be away from her family. He added that she “hated it,” and cried about it, but enjoyed the deployment when the time came and bonded with other troops.

Adam further said that Sarah was “caring and tenderhearted” and enjoyed spending time with her family, being in nature, and road trips. 

“She didn’t like being away from people, going to strange places, dealing with things she didn’t want to. She liked it better at home. She had better times the more she warmed up to it,” he added.

He also stated that she had the option to return to West Virginia, but opted to remain in the district. Eva Carr, Adam’s mother, said that Sarah was the “sweetest girl” and it was hard not to love her.

“You loved her the minute you met her,” she added.