A policeman has died after a driver rammed his vehicle into officers at a security barricade outside the US Capitol.
The incident took place at about 1 pm local time. The car reportedly crashed into a barrier on Capitol Hill in Washington, injuring two police officers.
The driver left the car carrying a knife and was shot by officers at the scene. Both the suspect and the two police officers were then taken to hospital.
At a press conference this afternoon, Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman confirmed that one of the officers and the suspect had died.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I announce one of our officers has succumbed to his injuries,” she said. The other officer is understood to be in a serious condition.
No further details have been released at this time, but Robert J. Contee III, acting Chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said the attacker was not known to police and the incident was not thought to be terrorism-related.
It comes nearly three months after the January 6 storming of the US Capitol building by supporters of Donald Trump, as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
The riot at the Capitol led to the deaths of four protesters and one police officer.
Fencing that prevented traffic near the area where the ramming took place was recently removed as the Capitol had started to open up after the January 6 insurrection.
President Joe Biden had just departed the White House for Camp David when the incident occurred.