Air Force Staff Sergeant Recovering Following Being Shot in the Nation's Capital
A servicemember of the Air National Guard is on the mend after he was gravely wounded in an ambush-style shooting last month in the US capital.
The family of Andrew Wolfe, 24, say "the injury to his head is slowly healing and that he's beginning to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" said West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The family anticipates the military non-commissioned officer to be in intensive treatment for the next two to three weeks, and they feel optimistic about his progress, said the governor.
Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of a pair of West Virginia National Guard members injured by gunfire when a shooter opened fire not far from the presidential residence on 26 November. His colleague, 20-year-old his counterpart, died from her injuries.
"We continue to ask all state residents and Americans for their thoughts and prayers!" Morrisey declared.
Morrisey was present at a candlelight gathering on last Friday night for Staff Sgt Wolfe at Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia, where the serviceman was once a pupil.
A clergyman at the vigil shared a statement from the guardsman's mother and father, his family.
"It is clear to us that there is a long road to go," they expressed, as reported by local news outlet Metro News.
"But our faith keeps us optimistic. We remain grateful for the well-wishes and the encouragement from people all over the globe."
Earlier in the week, the state official said Staff Sgt Wolfe had acknowledged medical staff with a positive gesture and was capable of wiggle his feet.
Law enforcement have charged the suspected shooter, 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 member of a special forces unit in a CIA-backed unit that operated alongside US forces in the South Asian nation.
The injured airman was one of two thousand militia personnel whom President Donald Trump dispatched to the nation's capitol in last summer as part of his policy initiative in Democratic-led cities.
In the aftermath of the incident, the former president said he desired an additional five hundred National Guard troops deployed to the nation's capital.
The Trump administration has also cited the shooting as a reason for additional restrictive policies.
They have halted naturalization proceedings for immigrants from 19 countries that were part of a entry restriction implemented over the recent season, among them the suspect's home country.
