National Guardsman Recovering After Being Shot in Washington DC

A member of the Air National Guard is showing improvement after he was gravely wounded in an ambush-style shooting last month in Washington DC.

The family of the 24-year-old soldier, 24, say "the injury to his head is gradually improving and that he's starting to 'regain his familiar appearance,'" stated the state's chief executive Patrick Morrisey.

The family expects the Air Force staff sergeant to be in acute care for the coming fortnight, and they feel hopeful about his recovery, said the governor.

Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of a pair of state guardsmen shot when a gunman began shooting not far from the presidential residence on 26 November. His fellow guardsmember, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries.

"We continue to ask all state residents and Americans for their thoughts and prayers!" Morrisey declared.

The governor was present at a vigil on last Friday night for the injured soldier at Musselman High School in Inwood, West Virginia, where the guardsman was once a pupil.

A pastor at the event shared a statement from the guardsman's mother and father, Jason and Melody Wolfe.

"It is clear to us that there is a long road to go," they wrote, as reported by regional media Metro News.

"However our belief keeps us hopeful. We remain thankful for the prayers and the encouragement from people all over the globe."

Previously, the state official said Staff Sgt Wolfe had responded to a nurse with a thumbs-up and was able to move his toes.

Police have formally accused the suspected shooter, an individual from Afghanistan named the suspect, 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 counterterrorism soldier in a paramilitary group that operated alongside US forces in the South Asian nation.

Staff Sgt Wolfe was one of 2,000 militia personnel whom President Donald Trump deployed to the Washington DC in last summer as part of his immigration and crime-related crackdown in Democratic-led cities.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the former president said he desired an additional five hundred military personnel deployed to the District of Columbia.

The Trump administration has also cited the shooting as a justification for further restrictive policies.

They have halted naturalization proceedings for immigrants from 19 countries that were part of a travel ban implemented over the recent season, including Afghanistan.