Air Force Staff Sergeant Healing After Being Shot in Washington DC
A servicemember of the National Guard is showing improvement after he was gravely wounded in an targeted attack last month in the US capital.
The parents of Andrew Wolfe, 24, say "his head wound is gradually improving and that he's beginning 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 coming fortnight, and they feel optimistic about his recovery, according to the official's statement.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of two state guardsmen shot when a gunman began shooting in proximity to the White House on 26 November. His fellow guardsmember, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, succumbed to her wounds.
"We continue to ask all West Virginians and Americans for their prayers!" Morrisey declared.
Morrisey was present at a candlelight gathering on Friday evening for the injured soldier at a local secondary school in his hometown, where the guardsman was once a pupil.
A clergyman at the vigil read a statement from the soldier's parents, Jason and Melody Wolfe.
"We know that there is a long road to go," they expressed, according to regional media Metro News.
"But our faith keeps us hopeful. We remain grateful for the well-wishes and the support from people all over the world."
Earlier in the week, the governor said the serviceman had acknowledged medical staff with a positive gesture and was able to wiggle his feet.
Law enforcement have charged the alleged gunman, an individual from Afghanistan named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill.
Prior to his arrival to the United States in two years ago, he was once a counterterrorism soldier in a paramilitary group that worked with US forces in Afghanistan.
The injured airman was one of two thousand militia personnel whom President Donald Trump deployed to the nation's capitol in last summer as part of his immigration and crime-related crackdown in urban centers.
In the aftermath of the incident, Trump said he desired another 500 National Guard troops deployed to the District of Columbia.
The former presidential office has also referenced the shooting as a justification for additional immigration crackdown measures.
They have halted naturalization proceedings for immigrants from a list of nations that were part of a travel ban announced over the recent season, among them the suspect's home country.
