National Guardsman Recovering Following Sustaining Gunshot Wounds in the Nation's Capital
A member of the Air National Guard is showing improvement after he was gravely wounded in an targeted attack last month in Washington DC.
The family of Andrew Wolfe, twenty-four, report "the injury to his head is gradually improving and that he's beginning to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" said the state's chief executive Patrick Morrisey.
The family expects the Air Force staff sergeant to be in acute care for the next two to three weeks, and they feel optimistic about his recovery, according to the official's statement.
The serviceman was one of two state guardsmen injured by gunfire when a shooter opened fire in proximity to the White House on 26 November. His colleague, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries.
"We continue to ask all West Virginians and Americans for their thoughts and prayers!" the governor said.
Morrisey was present at a vigil on last Friday night for the injured soldier at a local secondary school in his hometown, where the serviceman was once a pupil.
A pastor at the event shared a message from the guardsman's mother and father, Jason and Melody Wolfe.
"It is clear to us that there is a difficult journey to go," they expressed, according to local news outlet Metro News.
"However our faith keeps us hopeful. We remain grateful for the well-wishes and the encouragement from people all over the globe."
Previously, the governor said Staff Sgt Wolfe had acknowledged medical staff with a positive gesture and was able to wiggle his feet.
Law enforcement have formally accused the suspected shooter, an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Before coming to the US in 2021, he was once a counterterrorism soldier in a paramilitary group that worked with US forces in the South Asian nation.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of two thousand National Guard members whom the former president dispatched to the Washington DC in last summer as part of his policy initiative in Democratic-led cities.
Following the incident, Trump said he wanted another 500 National Guard troops sent to the nation's capital.
The Trump administration has also cited the attack as a justification for further restrictive policies.
They have halted naturalization proceedings for immigrants from 19 countries that were part of a entry restriction announced over the summer, among them the suspect's home country.
