Crime & Safety

Protester Who Shot Himself at U.S. Capitol was from Chicago's North Suburbs

Leo Thornton, 22, of Lincolnwood, took his own life at the U.S. Capitol on Saturday. Police identified him Monday.

The man who shot himself to death in front of the U.S. Capitol was identified Monday as Leo Thornton, 22, of Lincolnwood, a small north suburb just south of Skokie.

The Metropolitan Police Department said he shot himself Saturday on the west front of the Capitol building just after 1 p.m. Thornton was carrying a backpack, a suitcase and a protest sign. Police locked down the building for about two hours and searched his bags after the shooting.

The protest sign Thornton held reflected a “social justice” message, according U.S. Capitol Police Chief Kim C. Dine, who spoke at a press conference Saturday.

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Police did not offer a motive for the suicidal shooting.

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