Michael Balzamo, The Associated Press Published Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, 10:10 a.m. EDT Last updated Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, 3:22 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man drove his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol early Sunday and then began firing into the air before fatally shooting himself, according to police, who said it did not appear he was targeting any members of Congress.
The incident happened just before 4 a.m. at a vehicle barricade set up at East Capitol Street NE and 2nd Street SE in Washington.
It comes as law enforcement agencies across the country face a growing number of threats, and federal officials have warned of potential violent attacks on government buildings in the days following the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The attack is reminiscent of an incident in April 2021 when a man drove a vehicle into two Capitol Hill officers at a checkpoint, killing an 18-year police veteran. And many in the Capitol remain on edge after supporters of the then-president stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Authorities said the man, identified as Richard A. York III, 29, of Delaware, crashed into the barricade and as he got out of the car, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The man then opened fire, firing several shots into the air as police approached.
Capitol Police said the man shot himself as officers approached. He was later pronounced dead.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said officers didn’t hear the man say anything before he fired a gun “indiscriminately” into the street and headed toward the Capitol building. Authorities are investigating whether the man may have set his car on fire, the chief said, as the collision did not appear to have caused the fire.
Officers at the scene saw the man fatally shoot himself when they approached, Manger said.
The chief said investigators found the man’s addresses in Delaware and Pennsylvania and learned he had a criminal history over the past decade, though his motives remain unclear and he has no ties to the Capitol.
“We don’t have any information to indicate his motivation at this point,” Munger said.
Police said “it does not appear the man targeted any members of Congress” and that investigators are looking into the man’s background as they work to uncover a motive. The House and Senate are in recess and very few staff are working in the Capitol complex at this time.
Authorities said no one else was injured and police do not believe any officers returned fire.
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