National Guardsman Recovering After Being Shot in the Nation's Capital

Members of the state militia patrolling a metro station in the District of Columbia
Members of the National Guard monitoring a metro station in the District of Columbia.

A member of the Air National Guard is showing improvement after he was gravely wounded in an targeted attack last month in the US capital.

The family of Andrew Wolfe, twenty-four, say "his head wound is slowly healing and that he's starting to 'look more like himself,'" said West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.

The soldier's relatives expects the military non-commissioned officer to be in intensive treatment for the next two to three weeks, and they feel optimistic about his progress, said the governor.

Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of a pair of state guardsmen shot when a gunman began shooting in proximity to the presidential residence on November 26th. His fellow guardsmember, twenty-year-old his counterpart, died from her injuries.

"Our request remains for all state residents and Americans for their prayers!" the governor said.

The governor was present at a vigil on Friday evening for Staff Sgt Wolfe at Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia, where the guardsman was once a student.

A clergyman at the vigil shared a statement from the guardsman's mother and father, Jason and Melody Wolfe.

"We know that there is a difficult journey to go," they expressed, as reported by regional media outlets.

"However our belief keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the prayers and the encouragement from people all over the world."

Sergeant the recovering guardsman
Sergeant Andrew Wolfe.

Earlier in the week, the governor said Staff Sgt Wolfe had responded to a nurse with a positive gesture and was able to wiggle his feet.

Law enforcement have charged the alleged gunman, an individual from Afghanistan named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with premeditated homicide and attempted murder.

Before coming to the US in 2021, he was once a member of a special forces unit in a CIA-backed unit that operated alongside American troops in Afghanistan.

The injured airman was one of two thousand militia personnel whom the former president dispatched to the Washington DC in last summer as part of his policy initiative in urban centers.

Following the shooting, the former president said he desired another 500 military personnel deployed to the District of Columbia.

The Trump administration has also referenced the shooting as a reason for additional restrictive policies.

They have halted naturalization proceedings for immigrants from a list of nations that were part of a entry restriction announced over the summer, among them the suspect's home country.

Matthew Mcguire
Matthew Mcguire

A seasoned software engineer with a passion for open-source projects and tech education.