Gov. Morrisey Urges Patience For Official Updates On West Virginia Guard Member

Gov. Patrick Morrisey said at a press conference Monday that Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe remains in serious condition after he and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom were shot in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday. Beckstrom later died from her injuries.

“We did have some positive news that we were told that Andrew was asked if he could hear the nurse who asked the question to give a thumbs up, and he did respond,” he said. “And we were told that he also wiggled his toes, so we take that as a positive sign.” 

Morrisey, who was accompanied by Maj. Gen. Jim Seward, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, said he was not going to speculate and any further updates will be dictated by the families, including funeral arrangements for Beckstrom.

“There are going to be some areas that you ask that we’re not going to get out and ahead of the medical personnel,” he said. “I’m not going to get out ahead of the families, and we’re not going to get ahead of the criminal investigation.”

Morrisey said his focus is on supporting the families of the guard members who were shot, as well as the approximately 170 West Virginia National Guard members still stationed in Washington.

“It is the state of West Virginia’s intent, my intent, Gen. Seward’s intent, to do everything we can to help those guardsmen adjust to this and to help the families of those who were impacted,” he said.

Following the shooting, President Donald Trump ordered 500 additional National Guard members to the nation’s capitol despite a federal judge’s order to end the deployment of National Guard troops. 

Morrisey said he has not been asked to deploy additional troops at this time. He reiterated that since Nov. 17, all guardsmen serving in Washington to help police the nation’s capital are doing so on a volunteer basis. 

“This is like being a deputy U.S. Marshal. These are people that are trained and they have knowledge of the situation they’re going into,” he said. “These are the same people that go to all corners of the globe. They’re trained in terms of difficult circumstances. So as general Seward indicated, we believe that they have the background and training to go into Washington, D.C. to carry out the mission.”