Trump confirms National Guard member has died

President Donald Trump said yesterday that a National Guard member had died after being shot in an ambush by an Afghan national near the White House, an attack that drew accusations from his administration of Biden-era immigration vetting failures and prompted a sweeping review of asylum cases.

- JASPER WARD

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of her wounds and her fellow guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, was “fighting for his life”, Mr Trump said, as investigators conducted what officials said was a terrorism probe after Wednesday’s shooting.

The FBI searched multiple properties in a widening investigation, including a home in Washington state linked to the suspect, who officials said was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan before coming to the US in 2021 under a resettlement program.

Agents seized numerous electronic devices from the residence of the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, including cellphones, laptops, and iPads, and interviewed his relatives, FBI director Kash Patel told a news conference.