The two National Guardsmen who were shot in Wednesday’s horror terror attack in Washington DC have been named.
Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Sarah Backstrom, 20, were identified in a press conference on Thursday.
Officials said both guardsmen underwent surgery and remain in critical condition.
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro revealed that both soldiers had only been sworn into the National Guard days before the attack.
The soldiers were ambushed on Wednesday while on patrol as part of President Donald Trump‘s ongoing effort to clean up the streets of D.C.
Afghan soldier Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was named as the alleged gunman in custody over the horror shoot-out.
Lakanwal was brought to the United States in 2021 as part of former president Joe Biden‘s Operation Allies Welcome when he withdrew from Afghanistan, which facilitated temporary visas for Afghans who assisted US Special Forces.
Officials said at the Thursday press conference that Lakanwal drove across the country before he fired at the troops on Wednesday afternoon.
He was shot during the chaotic aftermath of the terror attack and he also remains in hospital, Pirro said.
Andrew Wolfe was publicly identified in a tribute by his former high school on Wednesday night, hours after the tragedy unfolded just yards from the White House
Sarah Backstrom, 20, was also shot in the attack, and both she and Wolfe were said to be in critical condition after undergoing surgery
Afghan soldier Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was named as the alleged gunman in custody over the horror shoot-out
A spokesperson for Musselman High School identified Wolfe as one of the victims in a moving tribute to Facebook.
‘Our Applemen community is deeply saddened to learn that… alumnus, Andrew Wolfe, was one of the National Guardsmen injured in the shooting in Washington, D.C. today,’ the post read.
‘Andrew is currently in critical condition and undergoing surgery. Please keep Andrew, his family, and all those affected in your thoughts.
‘Once an Applemen, Always an Applemen,’ he said, referring to the school mascot.
Late on Wednesday night, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Lakanwal had direct links to the CIA from his work alongside US Special Forces in Afghanistan.
‘The Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA,’ Ratcliffe admitted.
He said his involvement with the CIA was ‘as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation.’
Like President Trump, Ratcliffe slammed the former administration’s ‘disastrous’ actions during the withdrawal of Afghanistan, which allowed unvetted foreigners to enter the US on temporary visas.
‘The individual – and so many others – should have never been allowed to come here,’ Ratcliffe said.
‘Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.’
