Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced on Monday that West Virginia National Guard member Andrew Wolfe responded to a nurse’s request to give a thumbs up as he remained in serious condition.
Wolfe, who was shot on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., gave a thumbs up and wiggled his toes in response to a nurse, Morrisey said during a press conference. The guardsman, an Air Force staff sergeant with the National Guard, remained in serious condition following the attack that killed fellow West Virginia Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom.
“What I will say is that Andrew remains in serious condition,” Morrisey said. “We did have some positive news that we were told that Andrew was asked if he could hear the nurse who asked the question to give a thumbs up, and he did respond. And we were told that he also wiggled his toes. So we take that as a positive sign.”Â
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An Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is alleged to have shot Wolfe and Beckstrom, who later died from her gunshot wound on Thursday. U.S. District Attorney of Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro said on Friday that Lakanwal was charged with first-degree murder for the killing of Beckstrom.
Pirro stated on Thursday that the two National Guardsmen had been deputized less than 24 hours before the shooting by the U.S. Marshals Service, her office confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Authorities said that Lakanwal entered the U.S. from Afghanistan on humanitarian parole after fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.
The Biden administration brought in around 76,000 Afghan refugees into the U.S. in 2021, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Lakanwal was likely among the 3,300 that year to be granted with a “special immigrant visa,” which would have expedited his entry because of his former affiliation with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), according to ABC News.
Emails obtained by The Associated Press revealed that Lakanwal struggled to assimilate to life in the U.S. and showed signs of mental illness and isolation.
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