This has been an extremely difficult time for US Capitol police, after the events of 6 January and now the events that have occurred here today.” Pittman “asked that the public continue to keep US Capitol police and their families in your prayers. Some of the security fencing put up after the attack has recently been removed. Five people died as a direct result of the attack, one of them a Capitol police officer who confronted rioters. The Capitol has been on heightened security alert since 6 January, when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to overturn his election defeat. “You may move about within the buildings and underground between buildings. “The external security threat located at all of the US Capitol campus buildings has been neutralized but continuing to investigate out of an abundance of caution and there is still no entry or exit permitted at this time,” read a police advisory. Kamala Harris said Evans had “made the ultimate sacrifice” on behalf of the American people.Ĭongresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a member of Republican leadership, tweeted her condolences.Įven after the lockdown at the Capitol was lifted at around 3.30pm, congressional staffers were still being told to stay in buildings and not go outside. mourn the loss of yet another courageous Capitol police officer.” “I want to express the nation’s gratitude to the Capitol police … and others who quickly responded to this attack. “I have been receiving ongoing briefings from my homeland security adviser and will be getting further updates as the investigation proceeds,” the president said. We’re in their debt.”įrom the Camp David retreat in Maryland, Joe Biden ordered the flag at the White House to be flown a half-staff too. Her Democratic counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said: “I’m heartbroken for the officer killed today defending our Capitol and for his family. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, ordered flags at the Capitol to be flown at half-staff, in recognition of the fallen officer. In a subsequent statement, Pittman said: “It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the passing of Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans this afternoon.”Įvans started work for the Capitol police in 2003, she said, and was a member of the first responders’ unit. “Two US Capitol police officers were transported to two different hospitals, and it is with a very, very heavy heart that I announce one of our officers has succumbed to his injuries.” The suspect has been pronounced deceased. The suspect did start lunging toward US Capitol police officers, at which time US Capitol police officers fired upon the suspect. That suspect exited the vehicle with a knife in hand. “The suspect rammed his car into two of our officers,” she said, “then hit the North Barricade barrier. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.A handout photo shows Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans. The lockdown came during Washington’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which attracts thousands of tourists during Washington’s busy season.Ĭongress has been on spring recess for two weeks and lawmakers are set to return to work Monday.Īssociated Press photo editor Wayne Partlow and writers Amanda Lee Myers and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.Ĭopyright 2015 The Associated Press. Nearer the mall, visitors gathered around trying to figure out what was going on. Police appeared to take measurements as bomb squad members searched the area. No one was allowed to leave or enter the Capitol or the visitors’ center during the lockdown on a busy day for tourists, and some streets around the area were closed.Īfter being allowed to leave the Capitol, Bishop said he saw authorities taking clothes out of the suitcase the man had.ĭuring the lockdown, about a dozen police cars, black SUVs and an ambulance congregated at the bottom of the west steps of the Capitol, which overlooks the bustling National Mall. Robert Bishop of Annapolis, Maryland said he was biking near the steps of the Capitol when the suicide happened.īishop didn’t witness the suicide but said there were about 60 people in the area, and that some of them did, including a girl and her mother who immediately began crying afterward.īishop said another witness told him and a police officer that the man who killed himself held up a protest sign about taxation just before pulling the trigger.
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