Sarah Beckstrom, a West Virginia National Guard member, was fatally shot near the White House on Nov. 26.

WASHINGTON – The White House ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Thursday, Dec. 4, to honor Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard soldier killed in an ambush shooting by an Afghan national near the White House in Washington, DC, last week.

In a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump, all flags at public buildings and grounds, military posts and naval stations, and naval vessels across the United States and Washington will be flown at half-staff “as a mark of respect for the memory” of Beckstrom until sunset on Dec. 4.

Beckstrom, 20, of Summersville, West Virginia, died on Thanksgiving, a day after being shot in an ambush by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, just blocks from the White House.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, a second National Guard member who was shot in the ambush, was left "fighting for his life" after the Nov. 26 attack. Wolfe, 24, this week was showing signs of improvement, giving nurses a "thumbs-up."

Lakanwal is charged with first-degree murder in the attack. Lakanwal served with CIA-backed paramilitary groups in Afghanistan that carried out secret raids against suspected terrorists. The federal government’s investigation of the shooting is ongoing.

Both Beckstrom and Wolfe were members of the West Virginia National Guard deployed to the nation’s capital as part of an effort by Trump to fight crime in the district.

Approximately 170 National Guard members from West Virginia remain deployed in DC. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said this week the troops volunteered for the mission.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flags flown at half-staff to honor soldier killed in DC shooting

Reporting by Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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