West Virginia governor provides update on National Guard shooting
CHARLESTON, N.C. (NBC, KYMA) - Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R-W.V.) says the surviving victim of last week's National Guard shooting is improving.
In a press briefing Monday, Gov. Morrisey said Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is now in serious condition. That's an improvement from prior updates that had him in critical condition.
"There'll be a lot of questions about the condition. I want to say I'm not the doctor. I'm not going to try to pretend to be. So, what I will say is that Andrew remains in serious condition. We did have some positive news that Andrew was asked if he could hear the nurse who asked the question to give a thumbs up, and he did respond. And we were told that he also wiggled his toes. So, we take that as a positive sign."
Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R-W.V.)
Morrisey also said he is focused on the wellbeing of the remaining West Virginia National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.
"We're looking at approximately 170 people from the West Virginia National Guard that are still stationed in DC. And once again, they're volunteering. They're volunteering because they believe in the mission. They want to support the state of West Virginia. They want to support the country. And I think that can't be lost.
So, I spoke with the President that was on Wednesday night. I have not been asked to deploy additional troops at this time. So, anything with respect to the number or where they'll come from, you know, right now that's not part of our focus. Our sole focus right now is to, looking after the wellbeing of the 170 service members who are on the ground, focusing on the family, ensuring the prayers are going out. But there's been no request that's come to West Virginia so far."
Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R-W.V.)
During the briefing, the governor talked about the inaccurate information he shared on social media in the aftermath of the shooting.
"When you have a lot of information coming in, you work to ensure that you have the most accurate information, and you get it from the most credible sources available, and then provide that to the public. When there's a change, then you alert the public. If there's an error, you correct the error. That's what happened, and that's what we did."
Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R-W.V.)
Wolfe and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom were shot last Wednesday while on patrol in our nation's capital. Beckstrom died Thanksgiving day.
The suspect, an Afghan national, was taken into custody at the scene and faces a host of charges including murder and assault with intent to kill while armed.
