Shot in the head with a .357. DC national guard not likely to recover.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

Is this a gun control issue???
___________
The two wounded guard members have been named as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24. Both are members of the West Virginia national guard and are listed in critical condition.
They had both been sworn into service less than 24 hours before they were ambushed at a bus stop by the suspect.

Beckstrom’s father told the New York Times in a phone call that his daughter was unlikely to recover. “I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom said. “She has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”

A man reached at the family home of Wolfe, told a reporter at the outlet: “All we need right now are prayers for my son.”

Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for Washington DC, said at a news conference Thursday that the suspect had used a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver, shooting one guard member twice before turning to fire at the second.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/27/washington-dc-national-guard-shooting-suspect

[WarGamer]

1. No. It's a bad dude who shouldn't have been in the country issue

In 2025 the US gave residency to a former Special Forces commander for an Afghani Intel unit...

AKA... a killer. A killer who didn't have the same guidelines and training as US forces... and certainly not the same loyalty to duty or loyalty to the USA.

Maybe this asshole attacked the female soldier because he was offended by women soldiers?

If you're not tolerant or flexible enough to adapt to US culture... shouldn't be here.

Oh and F&$% the people who blame anyone other than the shooter.

[Coventina]

4. Easy access to guns facilitated the crime

I’ll blame whomever I please.

[Bluetus]

8. Using a gun that should not be on the streets,

at least not without extensive background checks of the owner and a large liability insurance policy.

He attacked people who had no business being on guard in DC, indeed a judge ruled 4 days earlier that the deployment was illegal.

We do have a gun violence problem in America, like no other country. And we also have a mental illness problem. The West Virginia National Guard is not trained to deal with either problem. They are trained for battlefield combat.

Everything in this picture is wrong.

[Nevilledog]

12. He did something horrific, but he was vetted repeatedly.

[JI7]

15. I would be interested in seeing his family and how they lived

I also think it could be cultural and not being able to deal with how different things are here.

I remember one attack in Afghanistan on Americans was some guy angry at seeing a female soldier and he shot her .So the anger wasn't with the military in general and us being there since most are men. But it was anger that a woman was not how he thinks they should be.

[Justice matters.]

18. I blame pedonold for bringing them in DC for no reason other

than to make himself look "tough" because he's weak and corrupt to the core.

Had he not ordered them to be in DC, they would still be alive and well in WV.

[WarGamer]

19. So the shooter is off the hook? Clarify.

Possibly you think he was triggered by the sight of a female soldier ?? Couldn't control himself?

[Justice matters.]

20. I'm not "qualified" to read the sick mind of a sicko with a gun, but

my above statement about pedonold illegally bringing NGs into a US city with plenty of cops fighting these types of crimes stands.

Their (probable) deaths were a waste caused by the stupidly bragging weak and corrupt pedophile felon.

[W_HAMILTON]

25. Oh, you!

If he's a "bad dude who shouldn't have been in the country," he DAMN SURE shouldn't have been in the country with a gun, right?

[Polybius]

29. Agreed, and I'll take it a step further that he never should have been let in to begin with

Let alone granted asylum in April.

[Quiet Em]

30. I can blame the shooter and the asshole con artist who put the guards somewhere they don't belong

for fucking asinine and wrong politics.

Oh, and F*ck the people who excuse the con's role in this.

[Frasier Balzov]

2. I want information about the gun.

Trump's people are likely to treat the provenance of the gun and a thorough investigation of how the killer obtained it as prohibitively sensitive.

This crime is not about the gun, they will claim. This crime is about a vicious foreigner.

But the public policy implications of guns and ammunition in the hands of the public are very much at the center of the story of how the killer obtained it.

Keep pressing for proper inquiry into this.

[Igel]

7. Might be inconvenient.

Depends on where he got it--DC or WA.

Pirro said Thursday morning that suspect drove to D.C. from Bellingham, in Washington state, with "the intended target of coming to our nation's capital." She said the suspect lived with his wife and, officials believe, five children.

Patel said a search warrant had been executed at the suspect's last known address in Washington state. Based on what was found at the address, law enforcement was able to find people associated with him in San Diego.

"During that process, we seized numerous electronic devices to include cellphones, laptops, iPads and other material that is being analyzed as we speak," Patel said. "... Interviews were conducted and are going to be continue to be conducted, and we will go anywhere in the country or the world where the evidence leads us."

Bellingham looks like a nice little city.

[MichMan]

11. Doesn't matter where he got it.

Washington D.C. does not honor CCW licenses from any state or subdivision of the United States.

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map/dc-gun-laws/#recStates

[Blues Heron]

5. All because right wing assholes had to play political games with the guard. All those red state govs salivating

At the chance to occupy blue cities with black mayors. That judge should have sent them home immediately instead of staying the ruling for 21 days.

[NickB79]

6. A .357 revolver is so far down on the list of gun control targets

That we'll probably be dead before any new legislation would affect their availability.

Was the WW2 surplus Mauser bolt action deer rifle used to kill Charlie Kirk an example of a gun control issue?

[MichMan]

9. Did the shooter have a Concealed Carry Permit issued by DC police?

If not, he was already prohibited from carrying it in the district.

All firearms must be registered, and this process acts as a permit to purchase. Individuals cannot possess ammunition without a valid registration of a firearm.

Open carry is illegal in D.C.

District of Columbia Concealed Carry Pistol Licenses (CCPLs) are required in order to concealed carry and are issued to residents and non-residents and require a firearms training course that has been approved by the Metro Police. You must be at least 21 years old to get a concealed carry license in D.C. Any firearm you plan on carrying in Washington D.C. will also need to be registered in the District. In addition, possession of ammunition for an unregistered firearm is prohibited in the District of Columbia. Some areas are off-limits even with a D.C. CCPL, including schools, public memorials on the National Mall and along the Tidal Basin and the area around the White House. In terms of reciprocity, Washington D.C. does not honor CCW licenses from any other state.

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map/dc-gun-laws/

[Emile]

10. We should dress Trump in camouflage, and put

his sorry ass out there.

[erronis]

13. Imagine finding enough camo cloth to cover that blob (and his layers of depends.)

[John Coktosten]

14. 1935

357 Magnum has been around for 90 years without many issues like this. Going on a shooting spree with a revolver holding at most 8 rounds isn't really a gun control issue. This is an insane criminal/angry person ready to kill issue to me. I've got 3 guns myself that chamber 357 and I'd never do what this dude did. Self defense, hunting, and target shooting are the only real uses for this cartridge.

[llmart]

16. If it can kill then any gun is a "gun control issue".

Also, I don't care how "rare" it is, it's still a killing machine. If it kills one person, that's one too many.

[John Coktosten]

17. I disagree

You're falling into the NRA's trap with that argument.
Almost anything can be used to kill. It wouldn't be too hard to kill someone with an apple or a pumpkin if you think about it hard enough. Ban apples and pumpkins? That's their argument.
Plus 357 isn't rare, that's part of the point. 357 is ubiquitous. VERY common cartridge. Almost never used in this type of killing. Robberies, sure and crimes like that but not a spree/mass type shooting. I'm sure there are some but not many.

[MichMan]

21. I would guess that a .357 handgun is involved in more murders per year than any assault weapon is.

[John Coktosten]

22. Not sure

I would doubt it seriously but it's possible.

Semi automatics are most common nowadays. So unless there's a ton of wealthy criminals buying Desert Eagle pistols, there'd have to be a bunch of old school revolver loving murderers out there.

[John Coktosten]

23. So according to what stats I could find

357 is the 7th highest caliber used in murders by gun between 2010-2014.

https://ammo.com/articles/gun-death-statistics-by-caliber

[MichMan]

24. My point still stands

I don't see anything there that contradicts what I said

[John Coktosten]

28. Think I

easily invalidated your point with that data. You're free to disagree but you're disagreeing with observable data, not me.
My point still stands......validated.

Good luck to you.

[Melon]

31. Where do you see that? 7th is 12 gauge. It's not top 10. 1% of all murders are .357mag. Rarely used.

[John Coktosten]

32. In the chart of lethality by caliber 2010-2014

.357 is in a 3 way tie for 7th in fatalities (which I assume is required for a murder) with .25 and .32.

[John Coktosten]

33. I see what you're saying

.....later in the article from 2022 data, percentage of caliber used in most crimes, .357 IS like 1%. My whole point to get at was actual deaths. But I totally see your point and agree with it. Thanks

[CousinIT]

26. The saddest thing is: THEY DID NOT NEED TO BE THERE.

There is NO reason the NG should have ever been in DC.

And it's worth reminding the MAGAts that TRUMP's admin granted the shooter rights to be here once his 2-year parole from Afghanistan expired.

TRUMP.

Not Biden.

AND he worked with and was trained by the CIA.

And Kegsbreath wants to shove 500 MORE NG troops in DC as a response.

FOR WHAT? So more of them can get shot? They are NOT law enforcement and are NOT trained for that.

[OC375]

27. Gun Control is a thing still?

seriously doubt banning anything would reduce guns held in people's hands to an extent that would reduce deliberate violence or suicides by gun. People seem to pick and choose what laws they follow anymore, based on their own sensibilities. No more "Dang, it sucks I can't do that." anymore. Now it's "Dumb law, I'll work around it." No laws are ever settled fact anymore anyway, and all seem open to reversal, loophols or lack of enforcement. I think most folks would just hedge their bets and keep them stashed away, somewhere, so I guess target ranges would see less traffic.