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It was police officer William Evans who died after a car collided with him and a colleague outside the convention buildings in Washington DC. The driver was shot and killed by the police.
A car collided with two police officers at one of the entrances to the Capitol in Washington DC on Friday afternoon Norwegian time.
The incident occurred just three months after the deadly congressional storm on January 6, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.
– The suspect got out of the car with a knife in his hand. He ran aggressively toward the police and did not respond to the charges, says Yogananda Pittman, who is the chief of congressional police.
One of them is injured and is in the hospital. His condition is stable, reports the congressional police itself on Saturday night, Norwegian time.
The other died from his injuries.
The deceased identifies himself as William “Billy” Evans, who had worked for the Congressional Police for the past 18 years.
He is the second of police employees to die on the job this year, after police officer Brian Sicknick died from injuries he received during the congressional storm in January.
DEAD: Police William Evans. Photo: U.S. Capitol Police
The perpetrator was shot by the police and died in hospital. Both CNN and the New York Times identify him as 25-year-old Noah Green from Indiana. After running over the two policemen, he got out of the car armed with a knife, according to the police, with which he threatened the police on the spot.
The police in Washington DC so far have not understood what the motive for the incident could be. However, they say there is no evidence that it was an act of terrorism.
CNN writes that the suspect has written on social media that he had recently lost his job and has expressed that he has been suffering lately. The New York Times writes that the suspect, based on his behavior on social media, appears to have been a supporter of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam organization.
Pelosi: – We are deeply grateful.
United States President Joe Biden offers his condolences to the Evans family in a statement:
– Jill and I are devastated by the violent attack, writes the president, who has ordered that the White House flag at half mast until April 6 after the incident.
– We all know that it has been a difficult time for Congress, for everyone who works there and for those who protect it.
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi hails the slain police officer as a “martyr for democracy.”
– Once again, these heroes have risked their lives to protect the Congress building and our country, with the same extraordinarily selfless attitude they displayed on January 6. We are deeply grateful, on behalf of the entire House of Representatives, he said in a statement.
Total block
All of the Congressional buildings in Washington DC were closed as a result of the incident and employees have been told that no one was allowed out of the buildings and were urged to stay away from windows and doors.
– Very personal for many of us.
Congress has a holiday this week, so there should be no politicians working in the building itself.
After the raid on the congress building in January, additional security measures were introduced around the congress area. In recent weeks some of these measures have been repealed. Among other things, the high fences surrounding the congress building were removed and the number of National Guard soldiers in the area was reduced.
– This generates continuous uncertainty and concern about our workplace and what happened there. This is very personal for many of us, says Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan according to the New York Times.
He says he and the other elected representatives will recheck all security regulations after Friday’s attack.
