The memorial is outside the Farragut West Metro station, where police say the 20-year-old, along with fellow West Virginia National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, were allegedly shot by suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
WTOP spoke to some of those who visited the makeshift memorial at the intersection of 17th and I streets NW.
“I also grew up in West Virginia,” said Ronce Almond.
The resident of Bethesda said his hometown is close to where Beckstrom grew up in Webster Springs, West Virginia.
“As someone that grew up in that area, I wanted to come by and pay respects to the life that she lived and the service she did on behalf of our country,” Almond said.
Like Almond, George Johnson of Dumfries, Virginia, wanted to stop by and pay his respects.
“I couldn’t believe it. I’ve seen all the National Guard and just kind of took things for granted,” Johnson said.
For the last three years, Johnson has worked a block from where the shooting happened on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
“It’s just heart wrenching at that age,” Johnson said.
While many people made plans to stop at the memorial to pay their respects like Almond and Johnson, others like Maileen Villamor discovered it by accident.
“I work nearby and was on my lunch break. I just saw this erected here,” Villamor said.
The D.C. resident lives close to the site of the shooting, and said it’s hard to believe it happened so close to not only The White House, but also to the people working and families walking nearby.
“I’m extra saddened by it all,” Villamor said.
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