National Guardsman shot dead 'was spat at by public', says boyfriend as he reveals her selfless wish

Daily Mail UK ^ | November 29, 2025 | Alyssa Guzman

[Morgana]

The ex-boyfriend of the National Guardsman who was shot dead in Washington DC said she wanted to make a difference despite being spat on by the public.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injures on Thursday after her and fellow guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, were ambushed while on duty near the White House on Wednesday. Wolfe remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Her former boyfriend, Adam Carr, whom she dated for six years, said Beckstrom had been treated poorly while on duty.

'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 questioned why they were deployed to DC if they 'can't do nothing' and that Beckstrom thought it was 'pointless' because of it.

Beckstrom joined the West Virginia National Guard because she wanted to make a positive change and was hoping to do so while in DC when she was deployed there in August, Carr said.

'She wanted to make a difference. She wanted to extremely,' he told the outlet.

Beckstrom was tragically not able to complete her dying wish, as Carr said: 'She got deputized in there, and they gave them no rights to do anything.'

Beckstrom joined the National Guard in 2023 with dreams of working for the FBI, Carr said.

Her family spent Thanksgiving by her side until she passed away that evening with her father Gary Beckstrom holding her hand, he told The New York Times.

Carr remembers his ex-girlfriend as caring and someone who enjoyed nature and road trips.

'[She] had a huge heart,' Carr told CNN.

[fr_freak]

It was that story... specifically, a news story about how some returning soldiers were spat upon at JFK airport, in 1970 or '71... that caused me to think my very first conservative thought.

I'm too young to remember that era, but upon learning about it, the first thought I had was "Why would they spit on the soldiers? The soldiers aren't that ones that decided to invade Vietnam! Hell, some were drafted against their will." I understood that sentiment even more when I went in.

The hippies should have been spitting on the politicians that sent the military there, but it was an early example of how people in power do bad things and then sip cocktails together and laugh while the proles are suckers enough to fight each other in the streets over it.

Always direct your outrage at the true source.

[Bigg Red]

Perhaps there is a good reason that he became her ex-boyfriend....

[central_va]

If a guardsman witnesses a felony in progress then they can interdict to save life and property. Any citizen can do that.

[bort]

You don’t free up cops by replacing them with people who are not allowed to take action.
————
DC has many federal installations and buildings. The NG replaced local and federal law enforcement in doing patrols and surveillance. This freed up manpower to go make arrests.

[Uncle Miltie]

[MayflowerMadam]

She was 20. The guy is 24. (IIRC)

[Sacajaweau]

Cuz he got shot and that’s all he could get off...

[GOPJ]

Democrats spit on her - none of us would do that...democrats might be evil...

[1066AD]

There’s video clips of one NG who returned fire running and “racking” his pistol. Shooter used 357 revolver.

[Verginius Rufus]

I think I saw 23 reported initially but have seen multiple later items giving her age as 20.

[Irish Eyes]

Some troops are armed with handguns or rifles. The military only allows troops to use force “as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm,” according to the joint task force.

Who makes the decision which National Guards are armed and which ones are not....and why?

[DCPatriot]

Yes, they are armed.

Like heck they are! Not every Guardsman is entrusted with a loaded weapon.

And look at the video. The Guardsman sprinted away from the gunfire and shooter appearing to leave his 'sister' at the mercy of the terrorist POS...who shot her in the head point blank.

Only a Guardsman with a pocket knife had the courage to advance while the terrorist POS was reloading.

They won't even verify if the calf wound or arse wound sustained by the terrorist POS are bullet holes or from nasty black and blue bruises from rubber bullets.