National Guardsman Recovering After Being Shot in Washington DC

A member of the Air National Guard is on the mend after he was gravely wounded in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.

The parents of Andrew Wolfe, 24, say "the injury to his head is gradually improving and that he's starting to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" stated the state's chief executive Patrick Morrisey.

The family expects the Air Force staff sergeant to be in intensive treatment for the next two to three weeks, and they feel optimistic about his progress, said the governor.

The serviceman was one of two state guardsmen injured by gunfire when a shooter opened fire in proximity to the presidential residence on 26 November. His colleague, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, succumbed to her wounds.

"We continue to ask all state residents and the nation's citizens for their thoughts and prayers!" the governor said.

Morrisey attended a candlelight gathering on Friday evening for Staff Sgt Wolfe at Musselman High School in his hometown, where the serviceman was once a student.

A clergyman at the vigil shared a statement from the guardsman's mother and father, Jason and Melody Wolfe.

"We know that there is a long road to go," they expressed, according to local news outlet outlets.

"But our faith keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the well-wishes and the encouragement from people all over the world."

Earlier in the week, the state official said Staff Sgt Wolfe had acknowledged medical staff with a positive gesture and was able to wiggle his feet.

Law enforcement have formally accused the suspected shooter, an Afghan national named the suspect, with premeditated homicide and attempted murder.

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 US forces in the South Asian nation.

Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of 2,000 National Guard members whom President Donald Trump deployed to the Washington DC in last summer as part of his immigration and crime-related crackdown in Democratic-led cities.

In the aftermath of the incident, Trump said he wanted an additional five hundred military personnel sent to the nation's capital.

The Trump administration has also cited the shooting as a reason for further immigration crackdown measures.

They have cancelled all citizenship ceremonies for immigrants from a list of nations that were part of a entry restriction announced over the recent season, among them Afghanistan.