National Guardsman Recovering After Sustaining Gunshot Wounds in the Nation's Capital

A member of the Air National Guard is showing improvement after he was critically injured in an targeted attack last month in Washington DC.

The family of Andrew Wolfe, 24, report "his head wound is slowly healing and that he's starting to 'look more like himself,'" stated West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.

The family anticipates the military non-commissioned officer to be in intensive treatment for the next two to three weeks, and they feel optimistic about his recovery, said the governor.

Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of a pair of West Virginia National Guard members shot when a gunman opened fire not far from the presidential residence on 26 November. His fellow guardsmember, twenty-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries.

"We continue to ask all state residents and the nation's citizens for their thoughts and prayers!" Morrisey declared.

Morrisey was present at a candlelight gathering on Friday evening for the injured soldier at a local secondary school in his hometown, where the guardsman was once a student.

A pastor at the event read a message from the soldier's parents, Jason and Melody Wolfe.

"We know that there is a difficult journey to go," they expressed, according to local news outlet outlets.

"However our belief keeps us optimistic. We remain thankful for the well-wishes and the support from people all over the world."

Previously, the governor said Staff Sgt Wolfe had acknowledged medical staff with a thumbs-up and was able to move his toes.

Law enforcement have charged the alleged gunman, an individual from Afghanistan named the suspect, with premeditated homicide and assault with intent to kill.

Before coming to the United States in 2021, he was once a counterterrorism soldier in a paramilitary group that operated alongside American troops in the South Asian nation.

The injured airman was one of 2,000 militia personnel whom the former president dispatched to the Washington DC in August as part of his policy initiative in Democratic-led cities.

Following the shooting, the former president said he wanted an additional five hundred National Guard troops sent to the District of Columbia.

The former presidential office has also cited the attack as a justification for further restrictive policies.

They have halted naturalization proceedings for foreign nationals from 19 countries that were part of a travel ban announced over the summer, among them the suspect's home country.