mourn the loss of yet another courageous Capitol police officer.” “I want to express the nation’s gratitude to the Capitol police … and others who quickly responded to this attack. “I have been receiving ongoing briefings from my homeland security adviser and will be getting further updates as the investigation proceeds,” the president said.

We’re in their debt.”įrom the Camp David retreat in Maryland, Joe Biden ordered the flag at the White House to be flown a half-staff too. Her Democratic counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said: “I’m heartbroken for the officer killed today defending our Capitol and for his family. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, ordered flags at the Capitol to be flown at half-staff, in recognition of the fallen officer. In a subsequent statement, Pittman said: “It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the passing of Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans this afternoon.”Įvans started work for the Capitol police in 2003, she said, and was a member of the first responders’ unit. “Two US Capitol police officers were transported to two different hospitals, and it is with a very, very heavy heart that I announce one of our officers has succumbed to his injuries.” The suspect has been pronounced deceased. The suspect did start lunging toward US Capitol police officers, at which time US Capitol police officers fired upon the suspect. That suspect exited the vehicle with a knife in hand. “The suspect rammed his car into two of our officers,” she said, “then hit the North Barricade barrier. Green, The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.A handout photo shows Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans. “They had nothing to do with this incident,” Green said. It is extremely important that their systems be accurate.”Īs to sightings of fighter jets, there was an exercise of at Andrews Air Force Base Tuesday morning, completely separate from NORAD, and fighter jets were in the air. “They need to know that this was not a deliberate act by somebody to try to trick their system. NORAD is investigating the event, Green said. “The White House was locked down this morning due to a potential violation of the restricted airspace in the National Capital Region,” a Secret Service spokesman told WTOP. Secret Service said personnel at the White House were told to remain in place, but the lockdown has since lifted. The lockdown at the Capitol lifted without incident at 9:12 a.m., Malecki said. She said Capitol Police began monitoring the situation and decided to restrict access to Capitol Complex buildings “in an abundance of caution.” The report of a possible aircraft in restricted airspace came in shortly before 8:30 a.m., Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki said in a statement. But there was no such thing,” Green said. “We were told that there was a suspicious aircraft, that it was in the air identification zone here in Washington. But it was something … that someone saw that should not be there,” Green said.Īir traffic control audio reviewed by CNN showed that responding military aircraft reported seeing a flock of birds while in the air.Įarlier Tuesday, in a since deleted tweet, NORAD said that jet fighters were on site and responding, and that the “Plane is not considered hostile at this time.” “Most likely it was a flock of birds, possibly a drone. North American Aerospace Defense Command November 26, 2019Ī “slow-moving blob” was seen on radar at the Capitol Police command center flying just south of the National Mall, law enforcement told CNN. The defense of Canada and the United States is NORAD’s top priority. NORAD directed rotary wing aircraft to investigate and the event was resolved without incident.

NORAD responded to an event in the Special Flight Rules Area surrounding Washington D.C. Green and the event was resolved without incident, NORAD tweeted. NORAD confirmed Tuesday afternoon it responded to the report of a suspicious aircraft near D.C., and that it directed a Coast Guard helicopter to investigate.īut the helicopter did not find anything, said WTOP national security correspondent J.J. The White House and the Capitol were briefly locked down Tuesday morning following the report that a small aircraft had violated restricted airspace in D.C.

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Capitol on lockdown