The former boyfriend of the National Guardsman killed in Washington, DC, said she was determined to help others despite being spat on by the public. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries on Thursday after she and fellow Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, were ambushed while working near the White House on Wednesday.
Wolfe is still in the hospital and listed in critical condition. Beckstrom's ex-boyfriend, Adam Carr, who was with her for six years, said she was often mistreated while carrying out her duties. However, she was always focused and wanted to help people and make a difference, her heartbroken ex-boyfriend said as he paid a touching tribute to her.
Selfless Guardsman
"She was like: 'People spit towards us, cuss at us, throw things at us, and we can't do nothing.' She couldn't detain nobody. She couldn't stop them from doing wrong. They told them to call the cops," he told CNN.
Carr said the 20-year-old often wondered why they were even sent to DC if they "can't do nothing," and he said she felt the assignment was "pointless" because of that.
According to him, Beckstrom joined the West Virginia National Guard hoping to do some good, and she truly believed she could make a difference during her deployment to DC in August.
"She wanted to make a difference. She wanted to extremely," he told the outlet.
But Carr said she never got the chance to fulfill that hope. "She got deputized in there, and they gave them no rights to do anything," he said, calling it heartbreaking.
Carr said Beckstrom joined the National Guard in 2023 because she dreamed of one day working for the FBI. Her family stayed by her side through Thanksgiving, and she died that evening with her father, Gary Beckstrom, holding her hand, according to The New York Times.
Carr described her as warm, caring, and someone who loved being outdoors and going on long drives.
"She had a big heart," he told CNN.
Killed for No Reason
He also remembered how she would wake up at the crack of dawn to pack him lunch, even though he kept telling her she didn't need to. "I told her not to worry about it, and she would still get up for it anyways, even though she's got work in a few hours and could be sleeping," he told the outlet.
"I'd get up by the crack of the dawn, and it's still dark, and she'd be out there in the kitchen making some sandwiches, throwing in some chips, asking what type of fruit I wanted."
Carr said Beckstrom was "one of the best people around you could ever meet."
"I loved her to pieces. She never deserved any of that. I always wished the best for her," he said.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were just a few blocks from the White House around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday when they were allegedly ambushed by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who officials say opened fire on them.
Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan immigrant, is expected to face a first-degree murder charge. He was taken into custody after being shot.
He entered the U.S. in 2021 during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, after previously working with American Special Forces as part of a CIA-backed "Zero Unit."
