A small memorial of flowers and an American flag outside the Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C., near where two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot on Nov. 26. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced Friday it has charged the man who allegedly shot two National Guard members earlier this week with first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died as a result of her injuries. 

Other charges include three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. 

The attack shocked the country and has led to a renewed discussion about immigration policy as well as the war in Afghanistan and how the country withdrew during the Biden administration. 

President Donald Trump announced late Thursday night he intends to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” though he didn’t specify which countries would be included or exactly how such an order would be implemented. 

Trump wrote on social media he plans to “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”

The post came just hours after U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from injuries she sustained during a Wednesday shooting a couple of blocks from the White House. The other victim, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remained hospitalized in critical condition. Both were West Virginia National Guard members.

The alleged shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who worked with United States forces, entered the country on Sept. 8, 2021, as part of Operation Allies Welcome, according to a statement from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

No details of immigration proposals

The White House press office declined to say Friday which countries would have their residents barred from entering the United States under the new order, referring back to the president’s social media posts, which did not include a list.

“Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation,” Trump wrote. “Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!”

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Thursday afternoon statement the administration would pause immigration applications for Afghan nationals.

“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” she wrote. 

The Trump administration will also review “all asylum cases approved under the Biden Administration,” McLaughlin said, saying those cases required more vetting. 

Biden Afghanistan policy blamed

In a separate post, Trump blamed former President Joe Biden for allowing the alleged shooter into the country. 

McLaughlin echoed that sentiment.

Lakanwal “was paroled in by the Biden Administration. After that, Biden signed into law that parole program, and then entered into the 2023 Ahmed Court Settlement, which bound (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) to adjudicate his asylum claim on an expedited basis. Regardless if his asylum was granted or not, this monster would not have been removed because of his parole.” 

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, following two decades of war that began as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has been widely criticized.

Many of the Afghan nationals who aided the United States and allied countries were left behind as the Taliban quickly regained control. 

The nonprofit #AfghanEvac, formed in August 2021 to help resettle Afghan refugees, criticized the administration’s proposal to indefinitely halt the processing of immigration requests from Afghans.  

“Our allies are under attack today because of the actions of one deranged man. Those actions should not be ascribed to an entire community,” the organization posted on social media late Thursday.

In a lengthier statement issued Wednesday following the shooting of two National Guard members, the organization’s president, Shawn VanDiver, said #AfghanEvac “expects and fully supports the perpetrator facing full accountability and prosecution under the law.”

VanDiver continued: “AfghanEvac rejects any attempt to leverage this tragedy as a political ploy to isolate or harm Afghans who have resettled in the United States.”

Motive unknown

Lakanwal had been residing in Washington state and drove across the country before the shooting, according to Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Officials investigating the shooting have yet to release a possible motive.

Lakanwal was granted asylum in the U.S. in April, according to reporting by many media outlets, including NPR.

The Department of Homeland Security did not confirm for States Newsroom the date Lakanwal was granted asylum.

A teenage student who was injured in the December shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison has been released from American Family Children's Hospital.

The post Student critically injured in Madison school shooting released from hospital appeared first on WPR.

Michele Gay, co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools and mother to a student who was killed in the 2014 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, is attending the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs (TSD) Conference in November to talk about safety for all students in all educational settings, including the school bus.

At her TSD keynote on Friday, Nov. 9, Gay will discuss “Developmentally Appropriate Safety Education” and how schools can develop safety curriculum and training that supports and accommodates the unique needs of students and staff of all ages, abilities and educational levels. During her keynote, Gay looks to empower student transportation professionals to provide the appropriate kinds of training that will ensure student safety.

She will discuss how transportation can prepare staff to quickly and safely handle situations on or near the school bus, while keeping the physical and psychological safety of the students as the focal goal. As a very visible sign of students’ presence, the school bus can often be a target, and Gay looks to equip student transporters to protect the “rolling classroom” and the students onboard.

Gay began her work in the educational field as an elementary school teacher at the age of 21. She became a mom of three. She described one daughter, Josephine Grace or “Joey” as she was affectionally called, as “especially special” with many unique traits that came along with an autism diagnosis. Gay said she lived the day-to-day experiences of supporting a child with visual impairment, apraxia of speech, fine and gross motor skills. She shared that her daughter always made the most of life and that her goal as a mother and educator was to help her daughter navigate the world with those unique challenges.

Gay was a guest on the School Transportation Podcast, where she shared more about the reason why behind her work for student safety. Listen to the full episode here.

After the devastating shooting Dec. 12, 2014, and Joey’s murder along with that of 19 other 6- and 7-year-old students and six adult school staff members, Gay and her family was faced with the heartbreaking reality of the dangers that students encounter. She then founded Safe and Sound Schools, a national non-profit school safety advocacy and resource center, alongside Alissa Parker, who lost her daughter Emilie in the Sandy Hook shooting. Since then, Gay has been sharing how communities can create a comprehensive and sustainable approach to safety.

An experienced and educated advocate, Gay has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. She has addressed national audiences through media outlets, schools, law enforcement agencies and more. She continues to be a leading advocate for student safety, inspired by Josephine and all children like her.

Save $100 on main conference registration with the Early Bird Discount, available through Oct.4. The TSD Conference will be held Nov. 6 through Nov. 11 at Embassy Suites Dallas-Frisco Hotel and Convention Center Visit tsdconference.com to register and view the conference agenda, which includes four keynotes and dozens of educational sessions all focused on transportation of students with special needs.

Related: TSD Keynote Speaker Looks to Reveal Power of Praise in Student Transportation
Related: Hands-on Training Opportunities for Student Transporters at TSD Conference
Related: TSD Conference Topics Plan to Cover Unique Aspects of Transporting Students

The post Mother of Sandy Hook Victim Brings Student Safety Message to TSD appeared first on School Transportation News.