An unidentified 29-year-old Delaware man killed himself early Sunday morning after driving his car into a US Capitol barricade, after which he got out and began shooting indiscriminately into the air.
US Capitol Police said that the crashed car became engulfed in flames at the barricade just after 4 a.m. at East Capitol Street and Second Street.
As per the police report, the man fired several gunshots along East Capitol Street, injuring no one, but shot himself as police responded and approached him. The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, which did not immediately the attacker’s identity or any details of his motives, is now investigating his death.
It does not appear officers fired their weapons.
Capitol Police’s statement issued several hours after the incident, which identified the shooter as Richard A. York III of Delaware, said it’s still not clear why he chose to drive to the Capitol Complex since it does not appear he was targeting any Congress’ members.
The security barricades around the Capitol Complex checkpoints are closely guarded since they were erected after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack year and a half ago, after which the Capitol Police also heightened security at and around the Capitol.
Tall fences were also erected around the complex and stood there for weeks in the aftermath.
Since Jan. 6, there have been other reported security incidents near the complex. Noah Green (25) was shot and killed by police in April 2021 after killing one and injuring another of the officers standing near a security barricade that he rammed his car into.
A man named Dale Paul Melvin was arrested in October 2021 after parking his car across the street from the Capitol, outside the Supreme Court, and refusing to leave. He repeated the act earlier this year, this time leaving without being arrested.
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