Air Force Staff Sergeant Recovering After Sustaining Gunshot Wounds in the Nation's Capital
A member of the Air National Guard is on the mend after he was gravely wounded in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.
The parents of Andrew Wolfe, 24, say "the injury to his head is slowly healing and that he's beginning to 'look more like himself,'" said the state's chief executive Patrick Morrisey.
The family expects the military non-commissioned officer 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 a pair of West Virginia National Guard members shot when a gunman opened fire not far from the White House on November 26th. His fellow guardsmember, twenty-year-old his counterpart, 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 last Friday night for the injured soldier at Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia, where the guardsman was once a student.
A pastor at the vigil read a message from the guardsman's mother and father, his family.
"We know that there is a long road to go," they expressed, as reported by local news outlet outlets.
"However our belief keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the well-wishes and the encouragement from people all over the world."
Previously, the state official said the serviceman had acknowledged medical staff with a positive gesture and was capable of wiggle his feet.
Police have formally accused the suspected shooter, an individual from Afghanistan named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Prior to his arrival to the US in 2021, he was once a member of a special forces unit in a paramilitary group that operated alongside American troops in the South Asian nation.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of 2,000 militia personnel whom President Donald Trump deployed to the nation's capitol in last summer as part of his immigration and crime-related crackdown in urban centers.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Trump said he wanted another 500 National Guard troops sent to the District of Columbia.
The former presidential office has also referenced the shooting as a reason for further immigration crackdown measures.
They have halted naturalization proceedings for immigrants from 19 countries that were part of a entry restriction implemented over the summer, including the suspect's home country.
