Newsman: A Capitol Police officer died Friday when Noah Green of Indiana crashed a dark blue sedan into the two officers shortly after 1 p.m. The suspect 25-year-old Noah Green rammed a car into him and another officer before emerging from the mangled vehicle brandishing a knife, triggering cops to fatally shoot him. They were standing guard at a barricade on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol. The suspect lunged 18-year veteran officer with a knife, officials said. The second officer was “stable,” with non-life-threatening injuries, Capitol Police said on Twitter. National Guard troops were seen quickly mobilizing at and around the building after the car-ramming for extra security
Neither the Senate nor the House was in session on Friday, and most lawmakers had already left town for Easter recess by the time the crash and shooting occurred.Still, the Capitol complex was placed on lockdown during the attack, and an alarming message blared on loudspeakers inside the building telling staff and others that they could not enter or exit, eerily similar to the alert broadcasted on Jan. 6.
The officers struck by the car were also taken to a hospital, where one of them, William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year department veteran, died from his injuries, officials said. The second officer, who was not immediately identified, is in stable condition and expected to survive, according to police.
President Biden, who had just left the White House for Camp David when Friday’s attack unfolded, said he and First Lady Jill Biden were “heartbroken” to learn of the latest bloodshed.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to Officer Evans’ family, and everyone grieving his loss. We know what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol, everyone who works there, and those who protect it,” Biden said in a statement, adding that his Homeland Security advisers are regularly briefing him on the investigation. “As we mourn the loss of yet another courageous Capitol Police officer, I have ordered that the White House flags be lowered to half-mast.”
Investigators were probing suspect Green’s background and social media accounts late Friday to discern a motive.In an online screed, Green described himself as a follower of the Nation of Islam and its founder, Louis Farrakhan. He also said he was unemployed and in the last few months had been tried “with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life.”
In a letter to colleagues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., mentioned the family Evans left behind.
“On behalf of the House of Representatives, I have conveyed our prayers and condolences to his mother Janice, with our offer of assistance to her and Officer Evans’ children Logan and Abigail,” she said.
In a separate public statement, she said, “Today, America’s heart has been broken by the tragic and heroic death of one of our Capitol Police heroes: Officer William Evans. He is a martyr for our democracy.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who was back home in Brooklyn when the chaos unfolded, said he was devastated by yet another tragedy at his workplace.
“I’m heartbroken for the officer killed today defending our Capitol and for his family. I’m praying for the officer injured and his family. We’re in their debt,” the New York Democrat tweeted. “We thank the Capitol Police, National Guard and first responders for all they do to protect the Capitol and those inside.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement, “Once again, brave officers of the United States Capitol Police have been violently attacked while simply doing their job.”
“I am heartbroken that Officer William F. Evans was killed in the line of duty defending the Capitol,” he said.
In February, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told lawmakers that “the Capitol’s security infrastructure must change.”
The car came to a screeching halt as it slammed into the barricade, at which point the suspect stepped out “with a knife in hand” and rushed “aggressively” toward a line of officers, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters at the scene.
Details surrounding Evans’ death were not immediately known, but officials indicated he was one of two officers struck when the blue Nissan Sentra driven by the suspect hit a barricade. Law enforcement sources alleged the man got out of the vehicle and ran toward law enforcers with a knife.
the Metropolitan police investigation into the motive behind the attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Their deaths came less than two weeks after the Capitol Police removed an outer fence that had cut off a wide swath of the area to cars and pedestrians, in an effort to secure the complex after thousands of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters had marched on the building Jan. 6, as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s election victory. About 800 of those loyalists broke inside the Capitol, and siege lead to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol Police officer.
