Air Force Staff Sergeant Healing Following Sustaining Gunshot Wounds in the Nation's Capital
A member of the National Guard is showing improvement after he was critically injured in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.
The family of Andrew Wolfe, twenty-four, say "his head wound is slowly healing and that he's beginning to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" said West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The soldier's relatives anticipates the Air Force staff sergeant to be in acute care for the next two to three weeks, and they feel optimistic about his recovery, according to the official's statement.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of two state guardsmen shot when a shooter began shooting not far from the White House on November 26th. His fellow guardsmember, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries.
"We continue to ask all West Virginians and Americans for their prayers!" Morrisey declared.
The governor was present at a vigil on Friday evening for Staff Sgt Wolfe 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 soldier's parents, his family.
"We know that there is a long road to go," they wrote, according to regional media outlets.
"However our belief keeps us hopeful. We remain grateful for the well-wishes and the encouragement from people all over the globe."
Previously, the governor said Staff Sgt Wolfe had acknowledged medical staff with a thumbs-up and was capable of move his toes.
Law enforcement have formally accused the alleged gunman, an individual from Afghanistan named the suspect, with first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill.
Prior to his arrival to the United States in two years ago, he was once a member of a special forces unit in a CIA-backed unit 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 nation's capitol in August as part of his policy initiative in urban centers.
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 reason for further restrictive policies.
They have cancelled all citizenship ceremonies for immigrants from 19 countries that were part of a entry restriction implemented over the recent season, including Afghanistan.