Woman is dead after shot inside US Capitol during Trump riots
Ashli Babbit was shot in the chest during pro-Trump riots lead by POTUS supporters at the US Capitol and has died.
As unprecedented events continue to occur under President Donald Trump‘s watch, one person has died from the violence of today’s riots.
The victim has been identified as Ashli Babbit by KUSI News. The news outlet confirmed with her husband that the 14-year veteran was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol building. According to KUSI News, her husband said she strongly supported Trump. Babbitt served four tours with the Air Force and was a “high-level security” official throughout her service. It remains unclear the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.
On Monday, Babbit shared on social media that she’d be attending the protest.
Read More: Trump resists asking backers to disperse after storming Capitol
Babbit was shot in the chest during the attempted takeover of the Capitol building, NBC News reported. She was shot inside the building. However, it is not confirmed by who or the full scale of the circumstances that resulted in the fatal gunfire.
According to the news outlet, multiple people on-site, including a police officer, suffered injuries and were taken to the local hospital.
The Metropolitan Police Department will lead the investigation into Babbit’s death. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also confirmed to the local outlet that several MPD officers are injured.
Once news of the death reached social media, several people reacted to the loss of life. Barbara Comstock, a lawyer, and former VA10 Congresswoman, according to her Twitter bio, said “The man who bizarrely talked about “American carnage” at his Inaugural, is now closing out his sad, pathetic chapter with real American carnage.”
Read More: Ivanka Trump refers to protesters storming Capitol as ‘American patriots’
theGrio previously reported that Babbit was taken to a hospital in critical condition before she succumbed to the gunshot wound to the chest. Some elected officials were ordered to leave their office and others warned as security efforts failed to prevent the mob from entering the building.
The large crowd of men and women sporting MAGA hats, confederate flags and pro-Trump paraphernalia stormed passed on-duty police and forced the confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden‘s 306-232 Electoral College win to be postponed.
According to CNBC, the U.S. Capitol was finally secured late in the afternoon after hours of chaos and violence committed on behalf of Donald Trump supporters who opposed Biden’s solid victory in the 2020 presidential election. One member of the crowd who managed to break through security and trespass on federal property stood on a senate chair and exclaimed, “Trump won that election!”
According to TIME, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a letter to her colleagues that the joint session of Congress would continue tonight after things become safe for them to resume. She came to the conclusion with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, after reaching out to the Pentagon, the Department of Justice and Vice President Mike Pence.
“We also knew that we would be a part of history in a positive way, today, despite ill-founded objections to the Electoral College vote,” she wrote according to the report. “We now will be part of history, as such a shameful picture of our country was put out to the world, instigated at the highest level.”
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