Sen Shelley Capito honors 'peacekeeper' Sarah Beckstrom after National Guard shooting in DC

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA: Following the tragic shooting of two National Guard members in Washington on Wednesday, which led to the death of one of them, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WVa) has honored the memory of Sarah Beckstrom, who died on Thursday.

Capito called her a ‘peacekeeper’ who showed courage and honor as she served the nation.

Shelley Moore Capito honors Sarah Beckstrom

“I’m sure as the days move forward, we’re going to hear a lot of really good stories about Sarah and her life,” Capito said in a news conference call Friday morning.

Capito also asked to pray for US Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, of Martinsburg, who remains hospitalized with critical injuries following the shooting incident.

Capito said in the past few years, four of her staffers have been assaulted.

“They volunteered on a mission that the President asked to come to Washington, DC, our capital city, that is riddled, riddled with violent crime, half a block from where my apartment is in DC when I’m there.  A security guard was carjacked and murdered sitting in his car as he was waiting to go into work,” Capito said.

“This was not,  this was not an unusual occurrence in what was happening in DC. So by bringing the National Guard or bringing a presence to the district, what happened? Murder rates are down. Violent assaults are down. Carjackings are down. People are safer. I felt safer.”

Shooting of Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe

Beckstrom, 20, was one of two guard members shot in what authorities are calling a targeted attack on the pair, just two blocks from the White House, in the afternoon of November 26.

Beckstrom and Wolfe were among the approximately 2,100 members of the National Guard who have been on the ground in the capital as part of President Trump’s order to root out and deter crime.

Capito said that she believes the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) should continue to serve in Washington voluntarily. In August, up to 400 members of the WVNG arrived for the mission, of whom 160 remain as volunteers.

Donald Trump might attend the funeral

Donald Trump told reporters he had not yet considered attending the funeral but said it was “certainly something I could conceive of,” noting his connection to West Virginia. He said Beckstrom’s parents were at her side when he spoke with them and described her as “outstanding in every way.”

“I heard that Sarah Beckstrom, of West Virginia ... highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023, outstanding in every way, she's just passed away,” Trump said. “She was savagely attacked. She's dead now.”

He added that Wolfe was “fighting for his life” and hoped for “better news” regarding his condition.