Woman Shot at Capitol Has Died, Official Says

Update, [6:13 p.m. ET]: The Hill has reported that the woman who was shot on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol has died. According to the publication, a D.C. Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson confirmed the news of the woman’s death. Additionally, NBC News reported that the woman, whose identity has not yet been revealed, died after being shot in the chest while in the Capitol. She was said to be in critical condition following the incident and was later taken away from the location for treatment.

Original Story: In response to Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election results, President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in order to protest the outcome of the election, which former Vice President Joe Biden won. Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller, an officer inside the building stated that there were “shots fired” at the scene (Fuller clarified in a follow-up tweet that he could not confirm that there were shots fired, but he did see “the glass blow out of the chamber’s front door”). Now, it has been reported that a woman was shot inside of the Capitol as the pro-Trump protestors were storming the building.

CNN’s White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins reported that a woman was in critical condition after she was shot in the chest while on the grounds of the Capitol building. She obtained the information from CNN’s Noah Gray. Collins went on to share that there were no other details provided about the woman’s identity or the extent of her reported injury. Breaking News also reported that a woman at the scene was seen bleeding and that she was being treated by emergency personnel.

The chaotic scene at the Capitol unfolded during Wednesday afternoon as Congress was certifying the presidential election results. While Biden won the election, Trump has frequently claimed (without evidence) that he is the rightful winner. He has also claimed that there was widespread voter fraud which led to his defeat (again, there is no evidence to support this claim). As a result of the president’s rhetoric, his supporters turned up at the Capitol to protest the outcome of the election, and things quickly took a violent turn as those individuals made their way inside the building.

According to The Hill, the Capitol was placed on lockdown amidst this chaos. Several other buildings in the area, including the Library of Congress’ Madison Building and the Cannon House office building, were being evacuated. Police reportedly urged occupants in the Madison Building to “move in a safe manner to the exits” and “close doors behind you but do not lock.” They also told those in the Cannon House building to report to a tunnel connected to a nearby building in order to evacuate. When a reporter asked an officer how long this lockdown situation would last, they said that it would depend on the behavior of the pro-Trump protestors.