Air Force Staff Sergeant Healing After Sustaining Gunshot Wounds in the Nation's Capital
A servicemember of the Air National Guard is on the mend after he was critically injured in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.
The family of Andrew Wolfe, 24, report "his head wound is slowly healing and that he's beginning to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" stated West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The soldier's relatives expects the military non-commissioned officer to be in intensive treatment for the coming fortnight, and they feel optimistic about his recovery, according to the official's statement.
The serviceman was one of a pair of West Virginia National Guard members injured by gunfire when a gunman 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 state residents and Americans for their thoughts and prayers!" Morrisey declared.
The governor was present at a vigil on Friday evening for the injured soldier at Musselman High School in his hometown, where the guardsman was once a pupil.
A pastor at the vigil shared a message from the soldier's parents, his family.
"We know that there is a long road to go," they wrote, according to local news outlet Metro News.
"But our belief keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the well-wishes and the encouragement from people all over the world."
Earlier in the week, the governor said the serviceman had acknowledged medical staff with a positive gesture and was capable of move his toes.
Police have formally accused the suspected shooter, an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Prior to his arrival to the United States in 2021, he was once a counterterrorism soldier in a paramilitary group that worked with American troops in Afghanistan.
The injured airman was one of two thousand National Guard members whom President Donald Trump deployed to the nation's capitol in August as part of his policy initiative 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 referenced the attack as a reason for additional immigration crackdown measures.
They have cancelled all citizenship ceremonies for immigrants from a list of nations that were part of a travel ban implemented over the recent season, including Afghanistan.
