Slain Sarah Beckstrom was frustrated over people spitting and cussing at them in DC, says ex-BF

WASHINGTON, DC: The attack against two young National Guard members in Washington, DC, has shaken the entire country. New details continue to surface, including more information about one of the victims, the young Guardswoman who succumbed to her injuries a day after the shooting.

According to Sarah Beckstrom's ex-boyfriend, Adam Carr, the 20-year-old had been deeply frustrated with her deployment to DC. He said she told him that people would “spit” and “cuss” at her troop while they were on duty in the city.

She also told him that even when people cursed at them, they couldn’t respond, saying, “We can’t do nothing.”

Sarah Beckstrom faced constant public hostility in DC, ex-boyfriend says 

CNN’s Gabe Cohen visited West Virginia to interview Adam Carr. He asked if she believed in the mission. He then asked whether she felt the National Guard didn’t belong there.

Carr said Beckstrom often described how difficult the assignment had become. "She was like, ‘People spit towards us, cuss at us, throw things at us, and we can’t do nothing.’ She couldn’t detain nobody. She couldn’t stop them from doing wrong. It was — they told them to call the cops."

He said that even with those frustrations, Beckstrom still wanted her work to matter. "She wanted to make the difference. She wanted to extremely. She was happy with it. And she just was also like, ‘Why am I here if I can’t do nothing? Where they limited them so much."

"She’s like, ‘It’s pointless.’ She’s like, ‘I get why we’re here. Crime is bad, but it’s pointless if we can’t do anything," he concluded.

Trump confirmed the death of Sarah Beckstrom 

“I must unfortunately tell you that just seconds before I went on, right now, I heard that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the Guardsmen that we are talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023, outstanding in every way, she’s just passed away,” Donald Trump announced. “She’s no longer with us.”

The POTUS also said he would “permanently pause” migration from “third-world countries” as part of a broader effort to tighten immigration policy. He also ordered the deployment of an additional 500 troops to DC following the attack.

National Guard members targeted in attack near White House

A routine patrol turned tragic on Thanksgiving Eve when the two West Virginia National Guard members, Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot.

Authorities say the attack unfolded around 2.15 pm on Wednesday when a gunman opened fire on the soldiers.

The victims were rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Beckstrom died the following day. Wolfe remains in critical condition.

Police quickly identified the suspected shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan resident who reportedly entered the US in 2021 under "Operation Allies Welcome" during the nation's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Lakanwal is facing a first-degree murder charge after Beckstrom's death. 

Officials say the investigation is ongoing.