Sarah Beckstrom, a member of the West Virginia National Guard who died from her injuries after a shooting near the White House this week, became deeply interested in criminal justice and dreamed of one day becoming an FBI agent, according to a former boyfriend.
Beckstrom, 20, believed her service in the military police would “open the door to a career in the FBI and help her in the long run,” according to her ex-boyfriend Adam Carr, who said the two remained on good terms after splitting last month after six years together.
President Donald Trump announced Beckstrom’s death during a Thanksgiving Day phone call with U.S. troops. He described her as a “young, magnificent, highly respected person” and added: “She is looking at us right now.”
The other National Guard member injured in Wednesday’s shooting has been identified as US Air Force Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Trump said Wolfe was in “very bad shape” and “fighting for his life.”
The alleged gunman, an Afghan national identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, faces a charge of first-degree murder, federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro announced Friday. Authorities previously said he faced three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and one count of possession of a firearm during a violent crime.
Lakanwal worked with US forces during the war in Afghanistan, according to the CIA.
Carr, 20, who started dating Beckstrom in high school, remembered her as “one of the most forgiving people” he had ever met. “She doesn’t even have to know you and will do anything for you,” Carr said in an interview with NBC News on Friday.
Beckstrom loved exploring the outdoors, Carr said. In photos shared with NBC News, Beckstrom can be seen hunting deer, roasting marshmallows over a backyard bonfire and posing happily with Carr’s brother’s dog, a Dutch shepherd named Major.
Beckstrom enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard on June 26, 2023. She was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company and deployed to DC in August, when Trump ordered troops to the capital as part of a federal operation known as “Mission Beautiful, Safe DC.”
Carr said Beckstrom initially didn’t want to go to the capital because she was worried about feeling alone away from home. “She hated it. She cried about it,” he said. But over time, he came to enjoy the deployment and joined other troops. Her military colleagues nicknamed her “Becky,” she said.
In his free time, he said, he visited monuments and museums, took photographs and soaked up D.C. history. She was especially interested in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, she said.
She had the option of returning to West Virginia sooner, he added, but decided to stay in the district.
Beckstrom’s service was praised by federal and state officials after Trump announced that he had died from his injuries.
“Sarah served with bravery, extraordinary determination, and an unwavering sense of duty to her state and her nation. She answered the call to serve, stepped forward willingly, and carried out her mission with the strength and character that define the best of the West Virginia National Guard,” West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said in a post on X.
Col. Larry Doane, commander of the DC National Guard joint task force, praised Beckstrom as a “hero” and mourned the Guard’s “devastating loss.”
Gary Beckstrom, her father, posted a brief message on Facebook, saying in part: “My girl has passed into glory.”
In a Thanksgiving Day phone interview with The New York Times, Beckstrom’s father said he was holding her hand. “She has a fatal wound. There will be no recovery,” he said.
Beckstrom’s death sparked waves of grief in Summersville, a West Virginia town of just under 3,500 people along U.S. Route 19. Carr’s mother, Eva, said Beckstrom was “like a daughter” to her and spent a lot of time at her house.
“She was the sweetest girl. It was hard not to love her. You loved her from the moment you met her,” Eva Carr told NBC News, fighting back tears.
In the months before deploying to D.C., Beckstrom worked for a community health center that serves people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, Eva Carr said.
Seneca Health Services CEO Marcie Vaughan confirmed in an interview that Beckstrom started working for the center in January.
“The fact that she chose to enlist in the National Guard and work at a community behavioral health center is a testament to her passion for helping others,” Vaughan said.
Beckstrom’s empathy was one of her defining traits, Eva Carr said, adding that the young woman had “a heart of gold” and treated strangers with respect. The senselessness of his death has left his loved ones shocked.
“The last few nights I cried myself to sleep,” Eva Carr said.
