Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, the National Guard member who survived last month’s deadly attack near the White House, is “slowly healing,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Friday.
His colleague, Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the shooting the day before Thanksgiving when a suspect opened fire on a Washington, D.C., street. The guard members had been deployed to the city as part of a Trump administration order to fight crime in the capital.
Morrisey said in an update on Wolfe’s status that his head wound “is slowly healing.” He cited the 24-year-old guardsman's parents for the information.
On Saturday morning, the soldier's mother, Melody Wolfe, participated in a video update on his physiological progress with the West Virginia National Guard's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Jim Seward, and his wife Leslie.
"He's coming along well, surpassing expectations," the mother said in the video, posted to the West Virginia National Guard's Instagram page. "Sedation is coming off; they're scaling back on his pain medication."
She credited an outpouring of prayer in support of Wolfe, and she encouraged Americans to support National Guard troops amid their domestic deployment. "They're protecting us and they're protecting our freedom," Melody Wolfe said.
On Friday, Morrisey, citing the staff sergeant's family, said Wolfe may have two to three more weeks of acute care as he heals and recovers. He said Wolfe’s family has been “optimistic” about his health.
“He’s beginning to ‘look more like himself,’” Morrisey said, quoting Wolfe’s parents.
Wolfe was initially said to be in critical condition, and President Donald Trump said hours after the violence that Wolfe was “in very bad shape.”
The suspect in the attack, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, made a virtual court appearance Tuesday from a hospital bed.
Lakanwal, who was also shot during the Nov. 26 shooting, was charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill while armed, possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
A vigil for Wolfe was expected to take place Friday night at Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia, Wolfe’s alma mater, the governor said.
