REPORT: Troubled Stamford Woman Shot Dead in U.S. Capitol Incident

By Gary Jeanfaivre
and David Gurliacci

"After making an initial identification of the suspect, police are trying to confirm that the suspect is a 34-year-old woman from Stamford, Connecticut, with a history of mental health issues, ABC News reports." -- from the ABC News website, which reports the woman had a troubled past.

Update 5:04 p.m.:

The woman involved in the chase and shooting at the White House and Capitol Hill was shot and may be dead, according to the Associated Press. A small child with her was taken to a hospital.

A police officer received non-life-threatening injuries, according to the AP.

Update 4:59 p.m. (reports aggregated from elsewhere on the Web):

A woman, driving a black Infiniti registered to a Stamford woman born in 1979, tried to pass a barracade at the White House, then sped toward the U.S. Capitol building, where the car became involved in a shooting incident Thursday afternoon, according to numerous news reports.

The name of the woman had not been released as of 4:33 p.m., according to the Stamford Advocate, which reported that a local law enforcement official confirmed the car was registered to a Stamford woman.

The car struck a police car at the Capitol before crashing into a barricade there, according to a New York Times report.


Update 4:41 p.m.:

A car connected to this afternoon's shooting at the U.S. Capitol building is registered to a Stamford woman born in 1979, according to an NBC News report.

"Police said a woman rammed her car into a White House gate on Thursday, then led authorities on a high-speed chase to the U.S. Capitol, where she opened fire, police said. She was shot," NBC reported on its website.

Update 4:21 p.m.:

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5, took to her Facebook page to let folks know she was safe. She wrote:

"Lockdown has been lifted. Staff and I are safe. Thank you Capitol Police for all you do to keep us safe today and every day."

Rosa DeLauro, D-3, tweeted: "Thanks to all the great Capitol Police officers keeping us us safe."

Connecticut's remaining delegates — Joe Courtney, D-2, and John Larson, D-1 — have not yet reported on their status.

Commenting on the safety of those other delegates, a staffer at Murphy's Connecticut office told Patch, "As far as I know everyone is safe."

Original article:

At least two of Connecticut's Congressional delegates have taken to Twitter to report that they are safe following a shooting outside the Capitol.

"Staff is safe in my Cannon office. Capitol itself locked down. Thank you Capitol Police," U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, tweeted at 2:48 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy also reported being safe. "Was just off the Senate floor when we were locked down. Thank you to the Capitol Police for your vigilance and keeping us safe every day," he tweeted.

"Everyone on my staff is safe," U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (also a Greenwich Democrat) said in a 3:39 p.m. tweet. "Thanks to Capitol Police and law enforcement who acted swiftly and bravely to protect all in danger."

Connecticut's remaining delegates — U.S. Reps. Elizabeth Esty, D-5, Rosa DeLauro, D-3, Joe Courtney, D-2, and John Larson, D-1 — have not yet reported on their status.

The Capitol building was placed on lockdown just before 2:30 p.m., according to the Associated Press. 

The AP reports one Capitol police officer has been injured, and CNN reported the officer was air-lifted to the hospital. There were reports of multiple gunshots near the Senate Hart Office Building, and people were seen running, CNN reported.