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Police confirms death of female that shot near Congress

According to preliminary reports, the female was not armed
Photo EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
Photo EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

WASHINGTON, October 4. (ITAR-TASS). - U.S. police shot and killed the woman who was trying to ram the fencing near the White House with her car, and then to fling off the police near the U.S. Congress. This was stated by Chief of Washington Police Cathy Lanier, speaking at a news conference with the head of the Secret Service, Edward Donovan and the chief of the U.S. Congress police Kim Dine.

The authorities didn’t inform on the identity of the deceased, noting that the investigation into the incident continues. However, U.S. media outlets told citing sources in law enforcement, that it was a 34-year-old African-American female Miriam Carey, who lived in Stamford (CT) and worked there in a dental clinic. Some reports say she had mental problems. Now the FBI conducts a search at her home and plans to question her sister, who lives in New York.

Female was not armed

According to preliminary reports, the female was not armed when she staged a stir near the White House, and then raced on the streets of Washington, DC, in the direction of Congress. Lanier and her colleagues strongly emphasized that at the time of these events the police "acted correctly". "The police did what they were supposed to do," Lanier said.

Police officers opened fire on the car with the offender when she tried to fling off pursuers. A Secret Service employee and a police officer received minor injuries, but their life is not in danger.

It all started near the White House, when an unknown car tried to pull down the barrier near the residence of the President of the United States. "I think that it did not happen by accident," Lanier said. However, no one opened fire near the White House. "They were shooting at other places," Donovan said.

Dine added that the police opened fire on a car on the Capitol Hill near the Congress, when she rushed there, hiding from persecution. The fugitive tried to stop, but she did not obey orders, and imposed danger to third parties. In the end, the police started shooting in order to stop her.

Isolated incident not related to terrorism

The chief of Congress police said that the incident is regarded as "an isolated incident, not related to terrorism." "It involved one car, one driver," Dine said.

He also confirmed that inside the car there was a child of two or three years old, who was not injured. However, he was sent to the hospital, but his condition is not estimated by doctors as serious.

On the video footage from outdoor surveillance cameras on the streets, which the police gave to US broadcasters, one can see how after the tragic incident, a police officer picks up from the back of the car a baby.