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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump said that one of the two West Virginia shot by an Afghan national near the White House had died, calling the suspect, who had worked with the CIA in his native country, a 鈥渟avage monster.鈥�

As part of a Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops, Trump announced that he had just learned that Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died, while Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was 鈥渇ighting for his life.鈥�

鈥淪he鈥檚 just passed away,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 no longer with us. She鈥檚 looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her.鈥�

The president called Beckstrom an 鈥渋ncredible person, outstanding in every single way.鈥� The White House said he spoke to her parents after his remarks.

Trump used the announcement to say the shooting was a 鈥渢errorist attack鈥� and criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the U.S. The president has deployed National Guard members in part to assist in his administration鈥檚 mass deportation efforts.

Trump brandished a print-out of a news photo of Afghan evacuees sitting on the floor of a military plane during the chaotic evacuation from Kabul in 2021 during his remarks. He suggested that the shooter was mentally unstable after the war and departure from Afghanistan.

鈥淗e went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts,鈥� the president said. 鈥淚t happens too often with these people.”

The shooter worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan

The suspect charged with the shooting is Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29. The suspect had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before , according to two sources who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, and #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

Trump blamed the asylum process in which Afghans who worked with U.S. forces arrived by plane for being ineffective and failing to ensure people were properly vetted.

鈥淲e have no greater national security priority than ensuring that we have full control over the people that enter and remain in our country,” Trump said. “For the most part, we don鈥檛 want them.鈥�

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, declined to provide a motive for Wednesday afternoon鈥檚 which occurred just blocks from the White House. The presence of troops in the nation鈥檚 capital and other cities around the country has become a political flashpoint.

Pirro said that the suspect launched an 鈥渁mbush-style鈥� attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. As of Thursday morning, the suspect faced charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, but Pirro suggested the charges would be upgraded if one of the National Guard members died, as happened later on Thursday.

The rare shooting of National Guard members on American soil comes amid and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration鈥檚 use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.

Trump issued an in August that federalized the D.C. police force and sent in National Guard troops. The order expired a month later. But the troops have remained in the city, where nearly 2,200 troops currently are assigned, according to the government鈥檚 latest update.

The guard members have patrolled neighborhoods, train stations and other locations, participated in highway checkpoints and been assigned to pick up trash and guard sports events. The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington following Wednesday鈥檚 shooting.

The suspect also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Shooting raises questions about legacy of Afghanistan War

A resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal鈥檚 cousin said Lakanwal was originally from the province and that he and his brother had worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as Zero Units in the southern province of Kandahar. A former official from the unit, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Lakanwal was a team leader and his brother was a platoon leader.

The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for the unit in 2012, and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist.

Kandahar is in the Taliban heartland of the country. It saw fierce fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 following the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11. The CIA relied on Afghan staff for translation, administrative and front-line fighting with their own paramilitary officers in the war.

Zero Units were paramilitary units manned by Afghans but backed by the CIA and also served in front-line fighting with CIA paramilitary officers. Activists had attributed abuses to the units. They played a key role in the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, providing security around Kabul International Airport as the Americans and withdrew from the country.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that Lakanwal鈥檚 relationship with the U.S. government 鈥渆nded shortly following the chaotic evacuation鈥� of U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.

Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over allegations of gaps in the vetting process, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles (127 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.

On Wednesday night, of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration. The director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow said in a statement that the agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 鈥渉igh-risk鈥� countries 鈥渢o the maximum degree possible.鈥�

Edlow didn鈥檛 name the countries. , the administration by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns.

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the suspect鈥檚 name. It is Lakanwal, not Lakamal or Lakanmal.

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Associated Press journalists Siddiqullah Alizai, Elena Becatoros, Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Gary Fields, Safiyah Riddle, Matt Brown, Mike Balsamo, Eric Tucker, Jesse Bedayn, Evan Vucci, Nathan Ellgren, John Raby, Hallie Golden, Michael R. Sisak and John Seewer contributed.

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