Four people are dead, including a woman who was fatally shot inside the US Capitol, and 52 arrests were made Wednesday after supporters of president Donald Trump breached the building ahead of the Electoral College vote, according to police, reports Associated Press.
The Metropolitan Police Department did not identify the woman who was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer but said she was a civilian. They are taking the lead in the investigation. The three other fatalities, a woman and two men, died from medical emergencies in the Capitol area.
Fourteen DC police officers were also injured during the melee. One of the officers is in serious condition after he was pulled into a crowd of demonstrators and assaulted, according to officials. Another officer sustained facial injuries after he was struck by a projectile.
Police also recovered two pipe bombs — one at the DNC and another at the RNC — and a cooler with a long gun and Molotov cocktails on Capitol grounds.
A violent mob loyal to president Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House.
The nation’s elected representatives scrambled to crouch under desks and don gas marks, while police futilely tried to barricade the building, one of the most jarring scenes ever to unfold in a seat of American political power. A woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol, and Washington’s mayor instituted an evening curfew in an attempt to contain the violence.
The rioters were egged on by Trump, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to descend on Washington to protest Congress’ formal approval of Biden’s victory. Some Republican lawmakers were in the midst of raising objections to the results on his behalf when the proceedings were abruptly halted by the mob.-AP
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