Killing rocks unit still shaken by riot
A Capitol Police officer was killed yesterday after a man rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the United States Capitol and then emerged wielding a knife. It was the second line-of-duty death this year for a department still healing from the January 6 insurrection.
Video shows the driver of the crashed car emerging with a knife and running at the pair of officers, Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters. Authorities shot the suspect, who died at a hospital.
Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect stabbed one of the officers.
“I just ask that the public continue to keep US Capitol Police and their families in your prayers,” Pittman said. “This has been an extremely difficult time.”
Police identified the slain officer as Billy Evans, an 18-year veteran who was a member of the department’s first responders unit.
Authorities said there wasn’t an ongoing threat and the attack did not appear to be related to terrorism, though the Capitol was put on lockdown as a precaution. There was no immediate connection apparent to the January 6 riot.
Law enforcement officials identified the slain suspect as 25-year-old Noah Green.
Investigators were digging into his background and mental health as they tried to discern a motive.
Pittman said the suspect did not appear to have been on the police’s radar. But the attack underscored that the building and campus — and the officers charged with protecting them — remain potential targets for violence.
President Joe Biden said he and his wife were heartbroken to learn of the attack and expressed condolences to Evans’ family. He directed flags at the White House to be lowered to half staff.
The crash and shooting happened at a security checkpoint near the Capitol typically used by senators and staff on weekdays, though most are away from the building during the current recess.
The Washington region remains on edge nearly three months after armed insurrectionists loyal to former US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Biden’s election.
Five people died in the riot, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was among a badly outnumbered force trying to fight off invaders seeking to overturn the election. Authorities installed a tall perimeter fence around the Capitol and for months restricted traffic along the roads closest to the building, but they had begun pulling back some of the emergency measures.
Fencing that prevented vehicular traffic near that area was only recently removed.