Parents of National Guard member killed in DC ambush to attend State of the Union

The parents of the National Guard member who was shot and killed in an ambush attack in D.C. last year are expected to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Trump invited Specialist Sarah Beckstrom’s parents, a White House official confirmed to NBC News.

Beckstrom was one of two members of the West Virginia National Guard who a gunman targeted in an attack just blocks from the White House on Nov. 26. She died a day later, on Thanksgiving Day, at age 20.

Beckstrom, from Webster Springs, West Virginia, joined the guard in June 2023 and was preparing for a career in federal law enforcement, people who knew her told News4.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe survived being shot in the head.

Suspected shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal was charged with murder. Prosecutors say he drove from his home in Washington state and “purposely and with deliberate and premeditated malice” shot the guard members.

State of the Union guests invited by Trump also include Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, NBC News reported.

Learn the origins of one of the most important political events of the year in the U.S. and other interesting facts.

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