Ashli Babbitt identified as woman killed by police during U.S. Capitol riots
The woman shot and killed by Capitol police Wednesday was a 35-year-old named Ashli Babbitt, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said Thursday. Babbitt was a resident of Ocean Beach, California.
Her husband spoke to KUSI, a San Diego television station, and said she was a U.S. Air Force veteran and supporter of President Donald Trump.
Videos posted to social media appears to show the chaotic scene in which Babbitt was shot. Protesters had stormed the Capitol after Mr. Trump gave a speech once again demanding the election results be overturned. Babbitt was among those who breached the building.
In one video, a group inside the building can be seen breaking a window to gain access to the Speaker's Lobby, a woman can be seen about to climb through when a shot rings out. She falls backward as others look on, stunned. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said Babbitt died later at a hospital.
The Air Force said Thursday that Babbitt, who formerly went by Ashli Elizabeth McEntee, was on active duty from 2004 to 2008, most recently at Dyes Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas. She was also a member of the Air Force Reserve from 2008 to 2010 and the Air National Guard from 2010 to 2016.
The officer who shot her has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, Sund said. Washington, D.C., Police Chief Robert Contee said late Wednesday that she was shot by the U.S. Capitol Police.
Babbitt's Twitter account shows she was a voracious consumer of misinformation put out by far-right supporters of the president. Babbitt was the CEO of Fowler's Pool Service & Supply, Inc. in Spring Valley, California.
D.C. Police on Thursday identified the other three people who died during the riots as 34-year-old Rosanne Boyland of Kennesaw, Georgia; 55-year-old Kevin Greeson of Athens, Alabama; and 50-year-old Benjamin Phillips of Ringtown, Pennsylvania. Officials said they died of "medical emergencies" and did not elaborate.