The US has responded with horror to the attack by a man at the Capitol that killed an officer. President Biden said in a statement that he and his wife are heartbroken and has ordered the flags to be hung at half mast at the White House.
The suspect drove his car into police officers who were standing at a barrier near the Capitol in Washington last night. Then he ran with a knife at the officers, who then shot him. He later died in hospital.
The killed cop, William Evans, was hit by the car. House Speaker Pelosi calls him “a martyr for our democracy.” A colleague of Evans was also hit by a car and was seriously injured. He’s out of danger, Capitol Police said.
At a press conference, police said the attacker’s identity and motive are still under investigation. The police do report that there is no link with terrorism.
Instagram posts
Several American media report that the suspect shot dead is 25-year-old Noah Green from the state of Virginia. According to CNN, he posted on social media in recent weeks in which he wrote that the US government wanted to control his thoughts.
In the hours before his attack, he posted multiple messages on Instagram, including a link to a video of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam religious movement. Last week, Green wrote that Farrakhan rescued him “after the terrible situation I was in, presumably caused by the CIA and the FBI, United States government agencies.”
The reports would also indicate that he had lost his job and had medical problems.