Washington:In a second incident this year at the US Capitol complex, a motorist rammed a car into US Capitol police on Friday and brandished a knife, killing one officer and injuring another and forcing the Capitol complex to lock down in an attack that police said did not appear to be terrorism-related.
Police shot and killed the suspect. Yogananda Pittman, acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, said the suspect drove into the officers, then hit a barricade and got out of the vehicle, lunging at them with a knife.
HERE ARE THE LATEST UPDATES:
• Police have so far refuted the incident as an act of terrorism. “It does not appear to be terrorism-related but obviously we’ll continue to investigate,” said Robert Contee, acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington.
• The blue car rammed into the North Barricade just after 1 pm (local) time at the complex in Washington, DC. A US Capitol Police officer, who died in the incident, was identified as William “Billy” Evans. He joined the force in March 2003 and was a member of the First Responder’s Unit.
• President Joe Biden said he was heartbroken by the attack and ordered flags at the White House be lowered to half-staff. In a statement, he said he was being briefed on the investigation.
• Video shows 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. Authorities shot the suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 25-year-old Noah Green.
• Noah Green struggled with drug use and paranoia and his family worried about his mental state, according to his brother.
• Green was a follower of the “Nation of Islam,” and spoke on Facebook about the “end times”, the anti-Christ, and government “mind control”. His brother said that Green was unemployed after leaving his job, “partly due to afflictions,” and praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
• Dozens of police cars, marked and unmarked, raced toward the iconic domed white building, in an unwelcome reminder of Jan. 6, when thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump overran the complex.
• Authorities have begun only in the past couple of weeks to remove the outer ring of high, razor-wire-topped fencing erected around the sprawling Capitol complex after the Jan. 6 rampage. Many of the thousands of National Guard troops posted at the building in January had also been sent home.
• Vice president Kamala Harris also tweeted to praise Evans and offer her condolence to his family. “In an inexplicable act of violence, a brave US Capitol Police officer, William Evans, was killed in the line of duty while another officer fights for his life. Officer Evans made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Capitol. Our hearts go to his family and loved ones,” Harris said in a tweet.