Air Force Staff Sergeant Recovering Following Sustaining Gunshot Wounds in Washington DC
A servicemember of the Air National Guard is showing improvement after he was gravely wounded in an ambush-style shooting last month in the US capital.
The family of Andrew Wolfe, 24, report "the injury to his head is gradually improving and that he's starting to 'look more like himself,'" stated West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The soldier's relatives anticipates the Air Force staff sergeant to be in intensive treatment for the next two to three weeks, and they feel hopeful about his progress, said the governor.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of a pair of state guardsmen injured by gunfire when a shooter began shooting not far from the White House on 26 November. His fellow guardsmember, 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 was present at a candlelight gathering on last Friday night for Staff Sgt Wolfe at a local secondary school in Inwood, West Virginia, where the serviceman was once a pupil.
A clergyman at the event shared a statement from the guardsman's mother and father, his family.
"It is clear to us that there is a long road to go," they expressed, according to regional media outlets.
"However our faith keeps us optimistic. We remain thankful for the well-wishes and the encouragement from people all over the globe."
Earlier in the week, the governor said Staff Sgt Wolfe had responded to a nurse with a thumbs-up and was able to wiggle his feet.
Law enforcement have formally accused the alleged gunman, an Afghan national named the suspect, with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Before coming to the United States in two years ago, he was once a counterterrorism soldier in a paramilitary group that worked with American troops in Afghanistan.
The injured airman was one of 2,000 National Guard members whom the former president dispatched to the Washington DC 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 sent to the District of Columbia.
The Trump administration has also cited the attack as a reason for further restrictive policies.
They have halted naturalization proceedings for foreign nationals from a list of nations that were part of a travel ban implemented over the summer, including the suspect's home country.
