Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Murder in the Shadow of the White House: Dr. Sunny Slaughter on the D.C. Ambush

Episode Date: December 28, 2025

Just blocks from the White House, a quiet act of service ended in tragedy. Two young National Guard members were ambushed; one was killed instantly, and another was left in critical condition. This week on Zone 7, Sheryl McCollum welcomes Dr. Sunny Slaughter to reflect on what happened that day and what it reveals about leadership, language, and the power of restraint. Together, they explore how hate takes root, why communication can be a matter of life and death, and what it truly means to serve with empathy when the world feels like it’s falling apart. Highlights: • (0:00) Sheryl McCollum reveals Zone 7’s 2026 return to weekly episodes and the kickoff. of the 10-8 Tour • (1:00) Welcome to Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum and guest Dr. Sunny Slaughter • (4:15) The ambush that killed Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically injured Andrew Wolfe, 24 • (7:00) How compassion, not politics, defines law enforcement and military duty • (10:00) “Take the temperature down to zero”: Dr. Slaughter’s warning against political violence • (12:30) Dr. Slaughter’s experience teaching “lens, language, and law” and why empathy is operational readiness • (17:00) Service as calling, not career: advice for the next generation of guardsmen and officers • (20:45) Sheryl and Dr. Slaughter on gratitude, resilience, and learning through hardship • (27:00) Finding meaning after loss and the power of service on purpose• (30:00) Preparing for crisis: why every law enforcement professional must plan for the unexpected • (35:00) The Florida eviction tragedy and how quickly crisis can turn fatal • (36:15) Final reflections: honoring the National Guard members through unity, compassion, and continued service Guest Bio Dr. Sunny Slaughter is a law enforcement instructor, expert witness and crisis communication strategist who specializes in counterterrorism, extremism, and emerging threats. As CEO of Sunny Slaughter Consulting and founder of the Sunny Slaughter Group, she helps agencies nationwide build crisis-ready leadership. A former military spouse and longtime advocate for justice and public safety, Dr. Slaughter has served as a U.S. Department of Homeland Security instructor and continues to guide federal, state, and local agencies in strengthening community resilience. About the Host Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a Metro Atlanta Police Department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than 4 decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing. Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her "Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta" and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023. Social Links: • Email: [e-mail] • Twitter: @149zone7 • Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum • Instagram: @officialzone7podcast Enjoying Zone 7? Leave a rating and review where you listen to podcasts. Your feedback helps others find the show and supports the mission to educate, engage, and inspire. Preorder Sheryl’s upcoming book, "Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Lessons in Life, Justice, and Joy from a Forensic Scientist," releasing May 2See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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y'all the new year is fast approaching and i am telling you 2026 we got big plans over here at zone seven we are going back to once a week releases now listen before y'all get upset dr pria and josh are going nowhere what we're going to do is once a month have them with us and it's going to be incredible But you also have the opportunity to meet them in person in 2026. That's right. Honey, we are hitting the road. Zone 7 is teaming up with body bags and crime stories, and we are doing a national tour called the 10-8 tour.

We're kicking this thing off in Atlanta, January 23rd, 2026, at the original Zone 7, Manuals Tavern. Lots of good stuff coming up. See y'all in 2026. Dr. Sonny Slaughter. Y'all, she is a law enforcement instructor, an expert witness, a TV commentator, and a crisis communication strategist.

Let me tell you how important her work is. It centers on emerging threats and crisis-ready decision-making. This is my favorite thing about her. She turns complexity into clarity. Listen now, complexity into clarity, and that's what we need. tonight. Dr. Slaughter, Sunny, welcome to Zone 7. It is such an honor to be on with you. My admiration

for you personally and professionally is at 100% plus, okay? So I am deeply honored to be on with you, to be on Zone 7. I follow you, I listen, and it is an absolute pleasure, and thank you for having me. Are you kidding? Listen, I could take the rest of our time tonight and talk about how I adore you, admire you, want to be more like you. There is so much that you give and show and teach every day. And it's incredible to me how you keep up with all that you do and it looks flawless every single time, every single time. So I, appreciate you. That is just by the grace, okay? You know from all of your ears and this work that it's not about religion. It is about faith in yourself, belief in the work and the purpose

that you have, and showing up, and to make making it look easy, even though the work is heavy and it can be hard. And it is challenging. I think, you know, you, someone that I I admire the guests that you've had on and the others that work in this space with us. It is a calling, a very unique calling. And, you know, sometimes I always tell people, everybody and anybody could do it. They wouldn't even want to do it because it is a heavy lift to be responsible for showing up and trying to make a difference. even though you have so many things in your own life going on. So thank you for your service.

Thank your listening audience for their capacity to continue to go and grow with you. And I'm just deeply honored, as I said earlier. Y'all see why I love her. I told you. And tonight, it's so important to me to have you because two national Guard members were shot November 26th just after two o'clock. Both were from West Virginia. They were shot at close range real near the White House. I mean, this was a straight-up ambush. It was a straight-up targeted murder. And, you know, both in their 20s. I mean, I just couldn't

think of anybody better to walk us through this. Let's talk about the crisis. Let's talk about maybe going forward some positive things that can be put in place some things that need to be put in place but you know i've got a lot of questions for you but i'm going to let you lead us so you know we know you know sarah beckstrom was 20 she died and andrew wolf 24 is still in critical condition and the third you know soldier that was with them returned fire but again was in that battle right there. You know, I live in the area. I am 15 minutes from the White House,

a place that I have been numerous times for work to engage in that area regularly, the same path that they were walking. I have walked. And when I heard about what happened, it was deeply disturbing and to understand that these two very young individuals, my four, three of my four adult children are in their 20s, actually, they're in their mid-20s. And these two very young, very dedicated, public servants were. gunned down in such a horrific way in the nation's capital, and they were there because they have

a calling and had a calling to serve in government, to protect our communities. And it's hard to talk and think about Sarah, who had just been sworn in recently, left her family to come here, to protect the community and the people here. We are in such a critical crisis at a time when compassion must be high for those that are in uniform, for those who are serving,

and for those who choose, to protect us because they don't have to. And they don't have to. And let's talk about Sarah for a second. She volunteered to do this tour so that other people with children

could go home for Thanksgiving. Right. I mean, she's young. She was committed and she already understood value of family because that's how she was raised. She believed that others, it was a selfless

act and then to then the selfishness of an individual and we still know not why to take such drastic measures. You know, I studied hate crimes and extremely. while as an instructor with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security flexing, I was allowed to go and do training that was for sworn law enforcement only, and it was the hate and extremism class, which wasn't just like a class for one day or a class for one week. It was a college course. It was deeply embedded in understanding the actions and the response necessary to address. threats, extremism, terrorism, and things like that. And now more than ever, I find that the work and the lens of what I was taught in interacting with my classmates is more critical now. I've been focused for the last several years on national security issues, traveling around with members of the Senate, members of Congress. And if folks want to know who I travel I work with everyone.

I don't take a side, I stay out of the weeds of the politics, and I have no problem at all correcting anyone, including our elected officials, about their language, how insightful and incendiary it can be from all parties. So there is no leftist. No right and on, no aisles. I throw down the middle on conversations like this. And in rooms, I am unafraid. I am unbossed, unbought, and very critical that everyone needs to take the temperature down to zero and stop fighting the violence, the political violence,

the propaganda, and which, makes people like Sarah and Andrew, those public service, law enforcement and others, political pawns, and puts them in the direct line of fire, which is what happened on that particular day when they were just walking in the community. I loved what you said. you are unbought you're not afraid you are not going to just be intimidated that's what it takes but you do more than that when you are at that table the people you're speaking for i don't even know if they realize you've got somebody calm intelligent with a heart sunny

because again you're not just talking about sarah like well there was somebody shot DC. No, you're understanding her. You're wanting to, you know, give homage to her parents the way they raised her to let people know, hey, she was putting family first and not her own, but somebody else's. Any job, but especially your job, leading with a heart, a heart for all people is incredible. And that's the only way to break down this hate. You know, Sarah and Andrew could be my children. Forget race, forget faith, forget all of the other things that we think matter. They were my children. And I say were because Sarah is no longer with us. Andrew could still be my child.

He is fighting for his life. The other guardsmen who took fire and tried to protect them and did an excellent job could still be my child. And when we take the hate and the lens off, I teach something called lens language and law. When you take the lens and you turn it in the right direction towards humanity, then we are family, regardless of all of the other factors that may, that sometimes people think separate us. And I say think separate us because we focus, there are individuals who focus more, but sometimes we focus too much on those. This incident was so moving to me, I decided to write. I've been writing LinkedIn articles because I found from those that, you know, follow me, listen to me that although I could do a video, it is the writing that allows me to really take a deep dive. and because I've always written

and kind of break things down. I am teaching and all of these things become teachable moments and I want people to have I write on the laptop or the computer but I still also write using pen and paper on school stuff. We have to move our

society has the hate that we are experiencing. It is not about an individual. It's not even about me, but it is about what I call to do. And I realize, based on the feedback that I keep getting from folks, is that they are learning. People still want to learn. They still want to understand all of the things that are impacting us and the articles and the writing and the commentary becomes a communication tool for better understanding. And when I thought about what happened, when all of the other things are happening, it was important to add context and layers and understanding, I am always a law enforcement instructor. So to tie the two together, and I was a military wife, I take all of my experiences and kind of

push them out in the world. I'm a former military wife, Navy, for years, a decade. I come from a family of service members across every branch. going back to my grandfather and my grand and my grandfather's father, a long line that still served today, National Guards and every capacity, including the Coast Guard. So I find it incredibly personal that two young people who have dedicated their life to service could be viciously attacked in the nation's capital with, which has a lot of law enforcement in the area.

And then you get mixed messaging about whether law enforcement and public safety professionals collaborate, communicate, and move forward with the work. While everyone else is talking about politics and policing and in the profession, those that do the work are just getting it done. Nobody's saying, are you Republican, are you Democrat, are you? Right on. Nobody's talking about are you, do you pray, how do you worship? That's not the conversations that it's going on with, with those that do the actual work.

Whether you're sworn or non-sworn, everybody is working towards mission-ready, safety, security, public service, and ensuring that our democracy and humanity hold together. What would you tell law enforcement today? What would you tell the next group of soldiers that are headed to D.C.? And a lot of people like to say, well, keep your head on a swivel, watch your six, but really give them something to ponder. to really put into practice,

to look out for their fellow person the way that they need to while looking out for themselves. If you have joined the National Guard's law enforcement in any area of public safety, your first priority is to protect and serve and protection and service to your colleagues, to your communities, and to the country.

And you have to take, no one wants to take this job and take this work on as a job and work when it's really about the calling and your commitment to others. So I would tell them, focus not on the rhetoric, the chaos, and the criticism, but focus on your humanity and your commitment to serve humanity for the greater good of all of us, not just some of us, that you stay true to the mission of your agency, your agency, your departments,

And to democracy, we are a democracy, no matter how fragile, no matter how challenged, no matter the broken parts. But in this democracy, it is only held up by our individual and collective humanity. That is why we are a democracy, because we believe in the goodness of others and showing goodness to others. stay the course, stay true to the mission, and stay true to yourselves and the calling and the reason why you decided to protect others and to serve others because I always say, and I'm a woman of faith, but I can also say, Yehamehallah, Hamukalah, it is who we are and how we are that makes the best of everything that is possible in America. We are America and we are American, no matter where you come from,

mission ready, stay focused, and understand that you have a purpose in this. You are literally the front line. I mean, you're what's going to stop evil. And you are right. they're going to stop all evils, domestic and farm. That is the calling. The person standing next to them, just like the officer, the guardsman that was there and returned fire,

because his colleagues were crippled, and there is no war except amongst the demons that are challenging us right now. The way you have crafted, the way you see the world is also to me a beautiful thing because I've told my own children love wins and I can give them thousands of examples. Yes, bad things happen, no doubt about it.

But you take this one shooter, look how many people are going to respond in a loving, devoted community type of way. They will. They are going to surround Sarah and Andrew. families and their friends, you're going to have hundreds and hundreds of people that respond correctly and favorably for them. So love wins. But I also love the way you say things like whether or not he worked for the CIA, whether or not he was asking for asylum or had applied

for it, you know, whether he came in under Biden and stayed under Trump, none of that matters. because that ain't why he did what he did. Now, Sonny, I know you, and I know how you lead again with your heart, wide open. Talk a little bit about the power, because I do believe it is powerful to be grateful. So I am a woman of faith, and I intentionally interact with people of all faiths and those who practice no faith and I'm talking about faith and not religion okay because sometimes people get hung up on on on

religion and I don't want to get hung up on religion I am someone and I've been very transparent about my story and in my life and things that I have experienced because if I only touch one person I know one person has been touched. I have been homeless. I have been hungry.

I have had to fight for my children. I have had to fight for my life. I've had to fight for system. And I hate to use the word hate, which I just used, and I hate to use the word fight. But those two words seem to resonate with people because so many people are angry, and they're also ungrateful.

And as for me, I take all of the things that have impacted me and I find grace in the moment. I find grace in the madness of the things that have happened to me. And I find that I am resilient and stronger because if I can, I learned a long time ago, if I continue to carry hate and be an ungrateful, I would never see the message and the lessons and the testimony in all of the things that make me who I am. People have to recognize the smallest part of their lives can be the biggest part that changes.

other people. And when I say the smallest part, being homeless was not a small issue, and particularly since I was that way for more than a year. Now, this was over a decade or so ago, but it is, when things happen in our lives, we learn to appreciate if we've learned a lesson. There you go. There you go. And when things happen in our lives and we have not learned a lesson, we learn to

hold on to the hate and hold on to the hate in a way that doesn't change humanity. It only changes who we are as we show up as individuals in humanity. Our trials and tribulations can make us better once we have learned the lesson. When I think about the work of the guardsmen across the country, You may not like it, but they are on assignment. And we need to welcome them in our communities as individuals to show our humanity. They are doing the work that they are called to do, that they are required to do. And we have to think about that.

We have to appreciate their presence in our communities so we can appreciate the humanity in our own existence. And I keep saying humanity because there is a human consciousness that I feel that has been lost with all of the rhetoric, all of the hate speeches, all of the politics and pressure that we don't see one another as human beings. And everyone is not good. hurt, murdered, and changed the course of lives for families across this nation with the shooting of the two guardsmen and the response. That was hate and rage, even though we don't know the exact details why, because those two young people who are doing nothing except serving their country. But we can't be hateful as we respond when you think. think about the collective response from law enforcement agencies that day. And every day,

there are things happening behind the scenes that make our world better, even though there was something that was hateful that happened. Our job is to become better in what we do and who we are. You know, I'm 56. No, I'm 57. Oh, I can't even remember. I'm 57 years old. My son, he came over Monday. He drove down with his girlfriend and Nate and straw by the house. And he said, you know, you're close to 60. And I was like, whoa. And then I realized my mother died two days after her 49th birthday. That was 27, almost 28 years ago. And when I think about loss, I think about the years that I have lost with her, but I think about how proud she would be because I am living and walking in my purpose. I would say to your audience that find out who you are and what your purpose is. and that's not a slogan I know that when I leave this earth

when all is said and done I just want everyone to say serve it well done that's what I I want to hear it but I want my children

and my children's children and I want the world and those that have never even met me to say wow she was on purpose. She was in position on purpose and serve it well done.

And serve it. When we learn to serve others, then that is a selfless act. When we do harm intentionally without regret, without remorse, that is a selfless. act. And I don't want to be selfish. I don't have time to be selfish when I am called to serve. And in each of our own ways, we are called to serve in some form of fashion. And I'm not talking

religion, and this doesn't even have to be about faith, but for the greater good of humanity. For those that we don't know, when I get a message, just like I know you get these messages regularly when someone that you don't know that you've never met says, you know you changed my life

you inspire me and when I'm going through tough times and we all go through tough times you know Martin Luther King said there are difficult days ahead so we should be prepared for the difficult days ahead

and we are in difficult days ahead and we are in difficult days. in difficult times. But that does not stop the humanity that must come out and be shown to others, the teachable moments, the work that you do, the work that I do, the things that happen behind the scenes, just like in this recording, just like in this episode, there is someone behind the scenes that no one knows that is making this happen because everything can't be out in front. Everyone can't be out in front, but there are people working to make a difference. New Year's Resolution. Own how you show up online. It's easy with a domain and matching email from

GoDaddy. Now just 99 cents per month for new customers their first year. Ring in 2026 with a domain and matching email at goaddy.com slash new year. That's go daddy.com slash new year to own how you show up online. Well, you know, you said there are difficult days ahead, and you said planning, planning, and no matter the outcome, be grateful. So I thought I'd tell you something funny. Walt and I had a buddy, Robert, and he was starting a business, and you know how that is. He was going to put everything he had in it. He had, you know, put way too much of his savings, his life savings in it, but he believed in what he was doing.

So we saw him like a week after the launch of this business. He had the most gorgeous at the time to us a huge SUV. It was like the biggest car I'd ever seen. It almost looked like one of those Secret Service type cars. You know, I'm talking about those big black sleeves. It was huge. Love him. And I'm like, honey, this business has only been rolling for a week.

He must be doing great. He went, no, no, no, Mac. He said, listen, just in case I lose everything, I got to live in it. So I made it nice. Oh, look. And I thought that is planning. That is glass half full. I loved everything about it.

He's doing great today just to let the audience know. He was very successful in what he did. But I remember that because I thought, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard, but he was dead serious. You know, and I understand that because, you know, during my time where I was homeless and then also in transition, I had a vehicle. I slept in my vehicle. I drove around in Alabama, you know, trying to find a place where I had enough light.

So when I was sleeping in my car, I couldn't be a. chat. But you have to have a plan. You have a plan. Your friend had a plan. He had a plan. And look, in those big SUVs, they are really nice and comfortable. They are nice. Yep.

Yep. And that third seat was a bed. Yes, ma'am. It was great. People don't think about, you know, he, I'm sure he already said, I can put this much food in there, and I can have my clothes in here, and I could be rich. but there is a reality to what he said and a reality to what I've been saying about my own previous circumstances and a reality to what others are experiencing in this moment that a plan

is important and continuous planning is even more important we can never get too caught up that everything is well, that something can't happen and change in an instant, which is what happened with the guardsmen. Things happen quickly, and our lives can change in an instant. It can be a phone call that says someone that you love is hurt, that someone that you love is gone. You need to come to the hospital. You need to come to the hospital. You need to come to the school. You need to, you know, they need support, they need services. We are living in times where planning, preparation, and purposeful understanding is really needed. When you talked earlier about, you know, people being so angry, Cheryl, you know, we can go, you and I, we do

true crime, we're studying, and the cases, people sometimes want me to talk about one thing and they want to point out a particular case. I said, do you know how many cases and things happen in one day that I'm looking at that you don't even see? That's right. That's right. This is, this work means I am constantly seeing something pop up on a screen that is critical, that is dangerous and that changed lives and that impact of the people that I know just like the recent shootings in Florida involving the police officer,

the locksmith, and those that were getting evicted. And she lost her life doing her job. The locksmith lost his life doing his job. job. And the person that was getting evicted, they didn't want to leave. And it turned into a crisis and a tragedy that no one saw coming. And I talked to her colleague this morning because I'm a Florida law enforcement instructor. And her captain, her leadership, well, they were my student. and she's broken and heartbroken and things happen quickly and perforation.

We have to prepare for the expected and be ready and planning for the unexpected. Dr. Slaughter, Sonny, I appreciate you so much. This has been insightful and uplifting. And that's the thing that I love about our Zone 7 community. Sometimes these tough cases talking about Sarah and Andrew, it does have an uplifting part. They did not go at this job they had halfway. We should not honor them halfway. We should be just as committed to talk about them, to lift them up, to honor them.

And that's what you've done tonight. And thank you for that. I am deeply honored more than I could say. to you for asking me to your audience, for them following this program, and for them learning, because these are the teachable moments and this platform that you have developed, Zone 7, my, my, my, to the Zone 7 audience. Thank you because the work would be for not, if it wasn't for all of you, tuning in to listen to those that pour their hearts and their purpose into everyday things that they do that, you know, they couldn't do it if the audience didn't

show up. If you all weren't ready to listen and to partate, you know, this is nourishment. What you have created is nourishment for the soul, mind, body, and soul. Thank you. Thank you to your behind the scenes team for how they show. up and pull everything together and make it look flawless because, you know, we couldn't do this if we didn't make

you look flawless. Thank you, Max. You know, I was struggling. That's the truth. Max was so calm. I was on edge. Max was really calm. He's always calm.

He's always even, no matter what I'm throwing at him, and usually it's chaos. But he is, I'm telling you, he is just master. at what he does, but, you know, again, I can't thank you enough. You are also that calming, resourceful, just, you know, there's those people that you can call and you know after the phone call it's going to be better. It's going to be all right. And that's how I feel talking to you. And listen, y'all, she's coming back because she and I've got to talk about Jekyll Island

because she was down there in Flexi, and I know we know some people in common. So she'll have to come back and we'll tell some good stories because that's one of my favorite places on earth and some of my favorite people. So Dr. Sonny Slaughter, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much, my friend, my colleague,

my admiration for you, run deep. Let me tell you, I was so giddy when you reached out. I was like, oh, my gosh. Oh, look, and I was hoping. and I was going to be good. So please invite me back. Oh, you're, you're coming back. Don't you worry about that at all. Not at all. Thank you. It's been an honor. It's been a pleasure, and I'm grateful for all that you do to make a difference in the lives of others. Your humanity

shows every single day, and you are making a difference to me and to so many others. Thank you again. Y'all, I'm going to end zone seven the way that I always do with a quote. Terrorism is the tactics of demanding the impossible while demanding it at gunpoint. Christopher Hitchinson. I'm Cheryl McCollum, and this is Zone 7.

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