A woman was fatally shot by police in Washington D.C. on Thursday after a car chase that went from the White House to Capitol Hill. Officials are saying that 34-year-old Miriam Carey had a child in her car as she broke through police barriers.
According to the New York Times, two officers were injured and the child in the car was unharmed as the chase came to an end. It is unclear if the child is Carey’s.
The chase began at 2:12 p.m. when Carey, a dental hygienist from Connecticut, attempted to ram through a White House check point in a black two-door Infiniti. An onlooker said that Carey hit an officer at the check point, who rolled off the car onto the street.
Carey then fled down Pennsylvania Avenue as police dispatchers chased her down. Officials stated that Carey was going as fast as 80 miles per hour, running through red lights and ignoring attempts by Secret Service officers to pull her over.
At one point, police appeared to have the suspect cornered by the west side of the Capitol facing the National Mall. Officers approached the vehicle with their guns drawn, but Carey sped in reverse, hit a police car and then fled up Constitution Avenue.
She then crashed into a barrier on Constitution Avenue. Carey, who was reportedly unarmed, then got out of her vehicle and was shot by police. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The Capitol was put on lockdown for about 30 minutes during the chase and after it came to an end. Just a couple of weeks after the deadly Washington Navy Yard shooting that claimed the lives of 12 people, many in the area were put on edge by the security threat.
Tweets from several journalists in the area gave a picture of the hectic scene.
Following the chase, House Republicans and Democrats praised the work of the Capitol Police.
[Source: New York Times]
No joke on Capitol Hill as Cops are running with machine guns as reports of shots being fired at Capitol pic.twitter.com/vdjAKkLP4y
— Marc Schloss (@marcschloss) October 3, 2013
Helicopter outside the Capitol pic.twitter.com/B0zDujqWHQ
— Lucia Graves (@lucia_graves) October 3, 2013
Victim now on stretcher being moved to ambulance. Appears to be civilian in white shoes, jeans (?). pic.twitter.com/2WwEgHPwOV
— Eric Teetsel (@EricTeetsel) October 3, 2013