Air Force Staff Sergeant Healing Following Being Shot in the Nation's Capital
A member of the Air National Guard is on the mend after he was critically injured in an targeted attack last month in the US capital.
The parents of Andrew Wolfe, twenty-four, report "his head wound is slowly healing and that he's beginning to 'look more like himself,'" said West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The soldier's relatives anticipates the military non-commissioned officer to be in acute care for the next two to three weeks, and they feel optimistic about his progress, according to the official's statement.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of two West Virginia National Guard members injured by gunfire when a gunman began shooting in proximity to the White House on 26 November. His colleague, twenty-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries.
"Our request remains for all West Virginians and the nation's citizens for their prayers!" the governor said.
The governor attended 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 clergyman at the vigil read a statement from the guardsman's mother and father, Jason and Melody Wolfe.
"It is clear to us that there is a long road to go," they wrote, as reported by local news outlet Metro News.
"However our faith keeps us optimistic. We remain grateful for the well-wishes and the support from people all over the world."
Earlier in the week, the governor said Staff Sgt Wolfe had responded to a nurse with a positive gesture and was capable of move his toes.
Law enforcement have formally accused the alleged gunman, an individual from Afghanistan named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with premeditated homicide and assault with intent to kill.
Before coming to the United States in two years ago, he was once a member of a special forces unit in a CIA-backed unit that worked with American troops in Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of 2,000 militia personnel whom President Donald Trump 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 desired another 500 National Guard troops deployed to the District of Columbia.
The former presidential office has also referenced the attack as a justification for additional restrictive policies.
They have cancelled all citizenship ceremonies for foreign nationals from a list of nations that were part of a travel ban implemented over the recent season, among them Afghanistan.
