Early Life and Enlistment
Sarah Beckstrom grew up in Summersville / Webster County, West Virginia. In June 2023, shortly after graduating high school, she enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard.
She was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, part of the 111th Engineer Brigade, serving as a military-police soldier.
Deployment to Washington, D.C.
When the 2025 federal deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. began, Specialist Beckstrom volunteered for duty.
She reported on duty in the District in August 2025 as part of the mission to assist law-enforcement and security operations in the capital.
The Attack
On November 26, 2025, while on patrol near the Farragut West Metro Station — just blocks from the White House — Specialist Beckstrom and another Guardsman were ambushed in what officials described as a “targeted shooting.”
The suspect used a .357-Magnum revolver in the attack.
Beckstrom was gravely wounded and transported to a hospital. She died on November 27, 2025, from her injuries.
The other Guardsman wounded in the shooting, Andrew Wolfe, remained in critical condition.
Response — From Family, Guard, State and Nation
The West Virginia National Guard issued a statement confirming her death, calling it a “devastating loss to our National Guard family,” and said she “came to the District from West Virginia to make our nation’s capital safe and beautiful.”
Her home state’s governor condemned the act and praised her “courage, extraordinary resolve, and unwavering sense of duty … to her state and to her nation.”
During a Thanksgiving-day call to service members, Donald J. Trump announced her death and described Beckstrom as a “highly respected, young, magnificent person.”
Expressions of grief and solidarity poured in from fellow Guardsmen, West Virginians, and national leaders — reflecting the shock and sorrow across state and nation.
Her Legacy and Sacrifice
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom’s service — though brief — exemplified the commitment, selflessness and willingness to protect others that define the citizen-soldier. She enlisted from her home state, volunteered for a fraught deployment, and answered the call to duty.
Her passing underscores the risks undertaken by Guard members deployed domestically, far from home, during missions aimed at safeguarding communities — often in harm’s way, even when their mission is protection rather than combat.
Her name, her sacrifice and her story will be remembered among those who served under difficult circumstances, far from their hometowns, yet upheld a promise to defend and serve.
