Officer killed in car attack near Capitol
A POLICE officer was killed yesterday after a man rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the US Capitol in Washington DC and then emerged wielding a knife.
Video showed the driver of the crashed car emerging with a knife in his hand and starting to run at the pair of officers, Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters.
The driver stabbed one of the officers, Ms Pittman said. Authorities shot the suspect, who died at a hospital.
“I just ask that the public continue to keep US Capitol Police and their families in your prayers,” Ms Pittman said.
“This has been an extremely difficult time for US Capitol Police after the events of January 6 and now the events that have occurred here today.”
Ms Pittman did not identify the slain officer or suspect. Authorities said that there was not an ongoing threat and that the attack did not appear to be related to terrorism. There was also no immediate connection apparent between yesterday’s crash and the January 6 riot.
The crash and shooting happened at a security checkpoint near the Capitol as Congress is on recess.
It comes as the Washington region remains on edge nearly three months after a mob of armed insurrectionists loyal to former president Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s presidential win. Five people died in the January 6 riot, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was among a badly outnumbered force trying to fight off insurrectionists 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 in recent weeks. Ms Pittman said the suspect did not appear to have been on the police’s radar. But the attack underscores that the building and campus – and the officers charged with protecting them – remain potential targets for violence.
The security checkpoint is typically used by senators and staff on weekdays, but politicians are on a break. The attack occurred about 100 yards from the entrance of the building. Fencing that prevented vehicular traffic near that area was recently removed, but there was additional interior fencing between the checkpoint and the building.
One of the officers who was injured was taken by police car to the hospital; the other was transported by emergency crews.
The US Capitol complex was placed on lockdown after the shooting, and staffers were told they could not enter or exit buildings.
Mr Biden had just departed the White House for Camp David when the attack occurred.