A car chase that started near the White House ended on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Thursday, as police shot and killed the unarmed 34-year-old driver just outside the Capitol Building. Two law enforcement agents were injured in the pursuit.
Friday, October 4
02:23 GMT: MedStar Washington told DCist the officer injured during the high-speed chase on Capitol Hill has been released from the hospital.
02:17 GMT: The New York Times reported that after crashing into a barrier along Constitution Ave. near the US Capitol Building, the unarmed Carey stepped out of her car and was shot, though she also may have been hit in the midst of the car chase.
Authorities took her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Identification was difficult “because of the extent of her injuries,” the Times wrote.
02:10 GMT: Carey was a dental hygienist in Stamford, Conn. She worked for periodontist Dr. Brian L. Evans in Hamden, Conn., until around a year ago, the New York Times reported.
Evans said he believed Carey had suffered a significant head injury during the year she worked for him. He also said Carey had “a bit of a temper,” but “nothing unusual, nothing that would ever lead us to think she would ever do anything like this.”
Thursday, October 3
22:55 GMT: NBC4 in Washington reports the driver has been identified by law enforcement as Miriam Carey.
22:28 GMT: Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has told CNN that the female suspect, who is thought now to be a 34-year-old African American from Stamford, Conn., appeared to have a history of mental health issues.
22:11 GMT: At a 6:00 pm ET (22:00 GMT) press conference, officials confirmed the car chase suspect is dead and that a child, approximately a year-old, was recovered from the suspect’s vehicle. The female suspect attempted to “breach” an outer-perimeter checkpoint to the White House just prior to a pursuit by police.
DC Police Chief Lanier would not confirm details regarding the suspect’s identity, though stated that it did not “appear to be in any way an accident.”
2:03 GMT: Police have converged on an apartment complex in Stamford, Conn., in connection to the Capitol Hill vehicle pursuit and shooting. Though no information has so far been released about the female suspect’s identity vehicle plates appeared to correspond to those issued by Connecticut.
Witnesses at the scene reported police surrounding the condominium complex, including a bomb squad, with several news helicopters hovering above.
21:12 GMT: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), who said he was briefed by the Department of Homeland Security, told the Associated Press the woman was killed and that he doesn’t “think she was” armed. “There was no return fire,” he said.