A National Guard member who was seriously wounded in a Washington, D.C. shooting that left another soldier dead is showing signs of improvement, giving nurses a "thumbs-up" and "wiggled his toes," West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said on Dec. 1.

"We take that as a positive sign," Morrisey told reporters in an update on U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe’s condition. The West Virginia governor added Wolfe’s mother asked for prayers for her son. "These are wonderful people and the family is going through a very difficult situation right now as Andrew fights to survive."

Wolfe, 24, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was left "fighting for his life" after the Nov. 26 attack in Washington, D.C., that fatally wounded Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia. Beckstrom, 20, died on Thanksgiving, a day after the attack.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, is charged with first-degree murder in the attack that happened two blocks from the White House.

The West Virginia National Guard members were deployed to the nation’s capital as part of an effort by President Donald Trump to fight crime in the district.

Approximately 170 National Guard members from West Virginia remained deployed to D.C. The governor said the troops volunteered for the mission.

"My heart goes out to the family of the two individuals who were despicably gunned down in Washington, D.C.," Morrisey said. "These are people who understand the mission was good, that there was an opportunity to reduce crime in the District of Columbia, and by all measures, it's been working."

Who is Andrew Wolfe, the wounded Guard member?

West Virginians are praying for Wolfe’s recovery, said Morrisey, adding he had come from a vigil in Wolfe’s hometown of Martinsburg, a city of about 18,000 in the state’s eastern panhandle.

Wolfe graduated in 2019 from Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia, where Principal Alicia Riggleman said he was an “active, engaged and high-achieving student.”

"Our thoughts are with Sergeant Wolfe, his family, and others who recover from their recent injuries sustained in the line of duty,” Riggleman said in a statement. “The Musselman High School community stands proud of their commitment to service and wishes them strength and healing.”

The school asked members of its community to keep West Virginia Guard members in their thoughts.

"We also keep the other Guardsmen in our hearts as proud West Virginians,” the school statement said. “In moments like this, we stand together with them and with one another as one West Virginia family."

Contributing by Bart Jansen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Thumbs-up': Soldier critically wounded in D.C. shows positive signs

Reporting by Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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