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Joe Biden has said he is heartbroken after a police officer was killed when a man rammed two officers into a barricade outside the United States Capitol in Washington DC and then came out wielding a knife.
The video showed the driver of the crashed car emerging with a knife in hand and starting to run towards the pair of officers, Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters.
Authorities shot the suspect, who died in a hospital.
Biden said in a statement that he and his wife Jill Biden sent their condolences to the family of the officer who was killed, who police identified as William “Billy” Evans.
“I only ask that the public continue to keep the United States Capitol Police and their families in their prayers,” Ms. Pittman said.
“This has been an extremely difficult time for the United States Capitol Police after the events of January 6 and now the events that have occurred here today.”
Two law enforcement officers told The Associated Press that investigators initially believed the suspect stabbed one of the officers, but it was later unclear whether the knife actually made contact, in part because the vehicle hit the officers so hard.
The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Authorities said there was no ongoing threat and that the attack did not appear to be related to terrorism.
Law enforcement officials later identified the dead suspect as 25-year-old Noah Green.
Investigators were running a background check on the suspect and examining whether he had any mental health history while trying to discern a motive.
They were working to obtain access orders to their accounts online.
There was also no apparent immediate connection between Friday’s crash and the January 6 riot.
Green described himself as a follower of the Nation of Islam and its founder, Louis Farrakhan, and spoke of going through a difficult time where he leaned on his faith, according to recent messages posted online that have since been eliminated.
The messages were captured by the SITE group, which tracks online activity.
“To be honest, these last few years have been tough and the last few months have been tougher,” he wrote.
“I have been put through some of the biggest and most unimaginable tests of my life. I am currently unemployed after leaving my job partly due to afflictions, but ultimately seeking a spiritual journey. “
The accident and shooting occurred at a security checkpoint near the Capitol while Congress was in recess.
It comes as the Washington region remains nervous nearly three months after a mob of armed insurgents loyal to former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress voted to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
Five people were killed in the January 6 riot, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was among a greatly outnumbered force attempting to fight insurgents seeking to reverse the elections.
Authorities installed a high perimeter fence around the Capitol and restricted traffic on the roads closest to the building for months, but had begun to remove some of the emergency measures in recent weeks.
Pittman said the suspect did not appear to have been on police radar. But the attack underscores that the building and campus, and the officials tasked with protecting them, remain potential targets of violence.
Senators and staff often use the security checkpoint during the week, but legislators are absent on vacation. The attack occurred about 100 meters from the building’s entrance on the Senate side of the Capitol.
The fence blocking vehicular traffic near that area was recently removed, but there was an additional interior fence between the checkpoint and the building.
The suspect had been taken to hospital in critical condition. One of the agents who was injured was taken by police vehicle to the hospital; the other was transported by emergency medical teams.
The US Capitol complex was closed after the shooting and staff were told they could not enter or leave the buildings. The video showed National Guard troops mobilizing near the accident area.
Video posted online showed a dark-colored car crashing into a vehicle barrier and a K-9 police officer inspecting the vehicle. Law enforcement officers and paramedics could be seen caring for at least one unidentified person.
President Biden had just left the White House for Camp David when the attack occurred. As usual, he was traveling with a National Security Council staff member who was expected to brief him on the incident.
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