One U.S. Capitol police officer was killed and another was injured when a man struck a vehicle outside a Capitol building on Friday. The suspect was shot by police after getting out of the car and approaching officers. He later died at a nearby hospital.
Official William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the police force, was identified as the officer who was killed Friday. Capitol police said the other officer was in a stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
Law enforcers told CBS News the suspect was identified as 25-year-old Indiana Noah R. Green, who was not yet on the law enforcement radar.
Green, an African-American man, was according to no federal law enforcement officer and a source from Capitol Hill on any waiting lists and apparently acted alone.
According to police, Green chased the officers with his car at 1:02 p.m., then left the car and crashed into them. The officers then shot at the suspect, Yogananda Pittman, acting chief of the Capitol police, said at a news conference on Friday. Several sources said one of the officers was stabbed in the face, but it is unclear which officer was stabbed with a knife.
Shortly after 1 p.m., police in the Capitol sent an initial warning to congressional staff warning them of an ‘external security threat’. Police again issued a warning within about an hour and a half, saying the threat had been ‘neutralized’.
In a statement, President Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were “saddened” to learn of the attack, adding that he had received information advice about the incident. Mr. Biden, who was at Camp David over the weekend, ordered the flags in the White House to be lowered to half the staff.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues that she was instructed to also lower flags at the Capitol to half staff.
‘In a time of such suffering, no words are sufficient. “However, I hope it is a consolation to Officer Evans’ family and the family of the other officer who is being harmed in the duty to be so sad and grateful for the officers brave protection of the Capitol,” Pelosi said. ‘May it be a consolation to Officer Evans and his family that America’s flag is flown half – staff in honor of him and in honor of the sacrifice of the entire Capitol Police, and that the President has designated this honor for the White House and all. federal buildings. ‘
Capitol police said the Evans family is currently seeking privacy.
The incident came nearly three months after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly Jan. 6 attack. The riot led to the deaths of five people, including Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick. Two Capitol police officers were also killed after the suicide attack, and dozens of officers were injured.
The trade union representing the officials called Friday’s attack a tragic situation, contributing to a very difficult year for our membership. ‘
After the attack in January, fences were erected around the Capitol complex and thousands of troops of the National Guard were sent to Washington. That security fence was Removed last week, though a layer of inner fencing around the Capitol building itself remains in place.
The barrier where the incident took place is a checkpoint on the Senate side of the Capitol. It was set up after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to protect the Capitol from possible car bomb attacks, Congressman Tim Ryan said. He is chairman of the committee that oversees the Capitol police.
There were fewer people than usual at the Capitol on Friday because Congress is in recession; most legislators are in their home countries. Other congressmen, as well as reporters and police, were in their offices.
Andres Triay, Michael Kaplan, Kris Van Cleave and Rebecca Kaplan reported.