The National Guard member who was fatally shot in D.C. had wept over the thought of being deployed to the nation’s capital amidst President Trump’s so-called crackdown on crime, her recent ex-boyfriend said.
U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was not excited when she learned she was called to Washington, D.C., as part of Trump’s efforts to make the city “crime-free,” her boyfriend at the time, Adam Carr, told NBC 4 Washington.
“She hated it. She was crying before she left, didn’t want to go, and then she volunteered for longer,” he said. “She really, really grew fond of being down there. Just volunteered for more time.”
Beckstrom, who joined the military in June 2023 to prepare for a future in federal law enforcement, had signed up to stay in D.C. less than 24 hours before she and another member of the Guard were gunned down in broad daylight.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Beckstrom were left in critical condition after the brazen shooting the day before Thanksgiving. Beckstrom died from her injuries on Thursday, while Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The suspect has been identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The shooting unfolded several blocks from the White House on Wednesday afternoon. Police arrested 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal and charged him with first-degree murder.
Beckstrom, originally from Webster Springs, graduated with honors from Webster County High School in 2023 and joined the National Guard four weeks later.
Carr said she learned to love her assignment in D.C., and would frequently visit 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 their own,” he said.
He also expressed frustrations about how the guard was being treated 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.
Carr and Beckstrom had been together for 6 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,” Carr said.
Trump began his so-called crime crackdown in D.C. in August, sending in National Guard troops, the FBI, and ICE agents. Despite the president’s claims, data touted by the Department of Justice earlier this year noted that the violent crime rate in Washington “is the lowest it has been in over 30 years.”
Following the shooting, the Trump administration halted all decisions regarding migrants seeking asylum in the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph B. Edlow wrote on X Friday evening, “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.”
A notice sent to asylum officers, and obtained by CBS News, explicitly tells them not to enter “any decision information for affirmative cases.”
More than 1 million people are awaiting decisions on their asylum applications, according to a 2024 report from Homeland Security. From those cases, more than 786,000 people were waiting more than 180 days for a decision in their affirmative asylum cases.
The suspect in the shooting worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, which almost certainly would have required extensive vetting to receive asylum.
