Air Force Staff Sergeant Healing After Being Shot in the Nation's Capital
A servicemember of the National Guard is on the mend after he was critically injured in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.
The family of the 24-year-old soldier, 24, say "his head wound is gradually improving and that he's beginning to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" said West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The family anticipates the Air Force staff sergeant to be in acute care 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 shooter opened fire in proximity to the White House on 26 November. His colleague, twenty-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, succumbed to her wounds.
"We continue to ask all state residents and the nation's citizens for their prayers!" Morrisey declared.
The governor was present at a vigil on Friday evening for Staff Sgt Wolfe at a local secondary school in his hometown, where the serviceman was once a student.
A pastor at the vigil shared a statement from the soldier's parents, Jason and Melody Wolfe.
"It is clear to us that there is a difficult journey to go," they expressed, as reported by regional media Metro News.
"However our belief keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the prayers and the encouragement from people all over the world."
Earlier in the week, the state official said the serviceman had responded to a nurse with a thumbs-up and was able to move his toes.
Law enforcement have charged the suspected shooter, an individual from Afghanistan named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with premeditated homicide and assault with intent to kill.
Prior to his arrival to the US in 2021, he was once a member of a special forces unit in a CIA-backed unit that operated alongside US forces in the South Asian nation.
The injured airman was one of two thousand militia personnel whom President Donald Trump dispatched to the nation's capitol in last summer as part of his immigration and crime-related crackdown in Democratic-led cities.
Following the incident, Trump said he desired another 500 National Guard troops sent to the nation's capital.
The Trump administration has also cited the attack as a reason for further restrictive policies.
They have cancelled all citizenship ceremonies for foreign nationals from 19 countries that were part of a entry restriction implemented over the recent season, including Afghanistan.
