Armed driver kills self after ramming barrier near Capitol, cops say
WASHINGTON— Aman drove his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol early Sunday and then began firing gunshots in the air before fatally shooting himself, according to police, who said he did not seem to be targeting any member of Congress.
The incident happened just before 4 a.m. at a vehicle barricade set at East Capitol Street Neand 2nd Street SE in Washington.
It comes at a time when law enforcement authorities across the country are facing an increasing number of threats, and federal officials have warned about the potential of violent attacks on government buildings in the days since the FBI’S search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-aLago estate in Florida.
The attack is reminiscent of an incident when a man drove a vehicle into two Capitol Police officers at a checkpoint in April 2021, killing an 18-year veteran of the force. Many on Capitol Hill remain on edge after supporters of the then-president stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Authorities said the man, identified as Richard A. York III, 29, of Delaware, crashed into the barricade and that as he was getting out of the car, the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The man then opened fire, firing several shots into the air as police approached.
Capitol Police said the man shot himself as the officers neared. He was later pronounced dead.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said officers did not hear the man say anything before he opened fire “indiscriminately” in the street with a handgun and walked toward the Capitol building. Authorities are investigating whether the man may have set his car on fire, the chief said, because the collision did not appear to cause the blaze.
Investigators located addresses for the man in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and they have learned he had a criminal history in the past decade, though his motive remained unclear, and he had no links to the Capitol, Manger said.
“We don’t have any information that would indicate his motivation at this point,” Manger said.
The House and Senate are in recess, and few staffers work in the Capitol complex at that hour.
Authorities said no other injuries were reported.
Israeliswoundedinattack: A Palestinian gunman opened fire at a bus near Jerusalem’s Old City early Sunday, wounding eight Israelis in an attack that cameaweekafter violence flared up between Israel and militants in Gaza, police and medics said.
Two of the victims were in serious condition, including a pregnant woman with abdominalinjuries andaman with gunshot wounds to the head and neck, according to Israeli hospitals treating them.
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, tweeted that there were American citizens amongthewounded.
The shooting happened as the buswaitedinaparkinglot near David’s Tombonmount Zion, just outside theoldcity walls. Israeli mediaidentified the suspected attacker as a 26-year-old Palestinian from east Jerusalem.
Israeli police said forces were dispatched to the scene to investigate.
Israeli security forces also pushed into the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan pursuing the suspected attacker.
Police said the suspected attacker later turned himself in.
Israeli Prime Mnister Yair Lapid, speaking at a meeting of his Cabinet onsunday, said the suspected attacker was operating alone during the shooting and had previously been arrested by Israel.
Deadly Pakistan accident: A truck overturned and fell onto a passenger van in eastern Pakistan during heavy rain, killing 13 people and injuring five, officials said Sunday.
Riasat Ali, a senior administrative officer in Liaquat Pur in Punab province, said the incident took place late Saturday near the town of Feroza in heavy rain. He said a truck loaded with sacks of sugar overturned.
Ali said the van was smashed under the heavy load, and rescue workers couldgetonlyfivepassengers out alive who were critically injured. He said the dead were taken out after workers cut through the twisted wreckage. The truck’s driver was not among the fatalities.
Freya euthanized: Authorities in Norway have euthanized a walrus that had drawn crowds of spectators in the Oslo Fjord after concludingthatit posedarisk to humans.
The 1,320-pound female walrus, knownaffectionately as Freya, became a popular attraction in Norway in recent weeks, despite warnings fromofficialsthatpeople should refrain from getting close and posing for pictures with the massive marine mammal. Freyaliked to clamber on small boats, causing damage to them.
Walruses are protected and as recently as last month officials said they hoped Freya would leave on her own accord and that euthanasia would be a last resort.
Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries said Freya was put downearlysunday“basedon an overall assessment of the continued threat to human safety.”
“Through on-site observations the past week, it was made clear that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus,” it said.
La. officer injured: A police officer in Louisiana is in critical condition after police say a suspect ran over him with a vehicle and dragged him during an attempted traffic stop. Police in Lafayette ,say the officer was dragged 100 feet early Sunday.
Officers had tried to stop a car that was driving recklessly downtown around 1:30 a.m., Lafayette police spokeswoman Sgt. Robin Green said in a news release.
Green said the driver sped away but ran into a roadblock. He then reversed and struck the officer. An officer shot at the car, but no one was struck.
Green said the officer who was run over had “severe” injuries, though he was stable.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, reckless operation of a vehicle, resisting an officer with force and operating while intoxicated.
Gasolineprices: The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline plummeted 45 cents over the past three weeks to $4.10 per gallon.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the continued decline comes as crude oil costs also remain low.
The average price at the pump is down a dollar over the past nine weeks, but it’s 85 cents higher than it was one year ago.
Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas was in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $5.36 per gallon. The lowest average was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at $3.38 per gallon. The average price of diesel plunged 37 cents over three weeks to $5.17 a gallon.