National Guardsman Recovering After Being Shot in the Nation's Capital
A member of the Air National Guard is showing improvement after he was critically injured in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.
The parents of the 24-year-old soldier, twenty-four, say "the injury to his head is slowly healing and that he's starting to 'look more like himself,'" said West Virginia Governor the governor.
The family anticipates the military non-commissioned officer to be in intensive treatment for the coming fortnight, and they feel optimistic about his progress, according to the official's statement.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of two state guardsmen injured by gunfire when a gunman began shooting in proximity to the presidential residence on 26 November. His colleague, twenty-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, succumbed to her wounds.
"Our request remains for all state residents and the nation's citizens for their thoughts and prayers!" the governor said.
The governor was present at a candlelight gathering on last Friday night for the injured soldier at Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia, where the serviceman was once a pupil.
A clergyman at the event shared a statement from the guardsman's mother and father, his family.
"We know that there is a long road to go," they expressed, as reported by local news outlet outlets.
"But our belief keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the prayers and the support from people all over the globe."
Previously, the governor said Staff Sgt Wolfe had acknowledged medical staff with a positive gesture and was capable of wiggle his feet.
Police have formally accused the suspected shooter, an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with premeditated homicide and attempted murder.
Prior to his arrival to the United States in 2021, he was once a counterterrorism soldier in a CIA-backed unit that operated alongside US forces in Afghanistan.
The injured airman was one of 2,000 National Guard members whom the former president deployed to the Washington DC in last summer as part of his immigration and crime-related crackdown in Democratic-led cities.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the former president said he wanted an additional five hundred military personnel sent to the District of Columbia.
The former presidential office has also cited the shooting as a reason for further restrictive policies.
They have halted naturalization proceedings for foreign nationals from 19 countries that were part of a entry restriction implemented over the recent season, including the suspect's home country.