Air Force Staff Sergeant Healing After Sustaining Gunshot Wounds in the Nation's Capital
A servicemember of the Air National Guard is showing improvement after he was gravely wounded in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.
The parents of the 24-year-old soldier, twenty-four, say "the injury to his head is gradually improving and that he's beginning to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" said West Virginia Governor the governor.
The family anticipates the Air Force staff sergeant to be in intensive treatment for the next two to three weeks, and they feel hopeful about his recovery, said the governor.
The serviceman was one of a pair of state guardsmen injured by gunfire when a gunman opened fire not far from the White House on 26 November. His fellow guardsmember, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, succumbed to her wounds.
"We continue to ask all West Virginians and Americans for their prayers!" Morrisey declared.
Morrisey attended a candlelight gathering on Friday evening for the injured soldier at a local secondary school in Inwood, West Virginia, where the guardsman was once a student.
A clergyman at the event shared a message from the soldier's parents, Jason and Melody Wolfe.
"It is clear to us that there is a long road to go," they wrote, according to local news outlet Metro News.
"But our faith keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the well-wishes and the support from people all over the world."
Previously, the governor said the serviceman had responded to a nurse with a thumbs-up and was capable of wiggle his feet.
Police have charged the alleged gunman, an individual from Afghanistan named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with first-degree murder 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 paramilitary group that worked with American troops 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 August as part of his policy initiative in urban centers.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the former president said he desired another 500 military personnel deployed to the District of Columbia.
The Trump administration has also referenced 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, among them Afghanistan.
