In a recent report from Capitol Police, one man reportedly made use of a vehicle to slam into a barrier next to the U.S. Capitol building before firing off rounds into the air and fatally shooting himself.
The event took place earlySunday morning at roughly 4 a.m. at the street barrier set up at East Capitol Street and 2nd Street in Washington, D.C.
The suspect has been officially identified as 29-year-old Richard A. York III of Delaware, as stated in a recently updated press release from the Capitol Police.
“It is still not clear why he chose to drive to the Capitol Complex,” claimed area officials.
The primary police report detailed the scene of the vehicle crash and its aftermath.
“While the man was getting out of the car, it became engulfed in flames,” stated the release. “The man then fired several shots into the air along East Capitol Street.”
“When our officers heard the sound of gunfire, they immediately responded and were approaching the man when he shot himself,” it went on. “Nobody else was hurt.”
The first reports to come in highlighted that the man did not seem to be targeting any member of Congress in particular, as the actual U.S. legislators are in recess atm and were not in the building. Officers reportedly did not respond to the event with weapons fire.
Area investigators are looking into the background of the driver, as released in a report from police.
“We don’t have any information that would indicate his motivation at this point,” stated Tom Manger, the Chief of Capitol Police as part of a recent news conference in the wake of the vent, as reported by The Washington Post.
The incident has happened as more and more threats have reportedly escalated against law enforcement nationwide allowing the FBI’s raid against former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
This particular crash took place just a bit over a year in the wake of another vehicle drove into a Capitol police barricade back in April 2021. Noah Green, the attacker, killed an officer and injured another before he was fatally shot by Capitol police.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free hotline for individuals in crisis or distress or for those looking to help someone else. It is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255.
