Driver in U.S. Capitol car chase ID'd as Conn. woman

Updated 8:53 a.m. ET Oct. 4, 2013

STAMFORD, Conn. The woman who led authorities on a chaotic car chase from the White House to the U.S. Capitol before being shot and killed has beenidentified by multiple police sources as Miriam Carey, a 34-year-old former dental hygienist from Connecticut. Family members say she may have suffered from some form of depression.

Authorities were still piecing together information about Carey, including identifying a possible motive. The FBI executed a search warrant at Carey's residence in Stamford, Conn., authorities said.

Carey was sued by her condo association in December, but they settled in February. The condo complaint against Carey was unavailable online, and there were no pending criminal cases or convictions associated with her name, court records show.

CBS News correspondent John Miller reports she was fired from her job in April 2012 after a fight with her bosses over her using a handicapped parking space they felt she didn't need.

On Thursday, Carey's car was surrounded by police cars after she rammed a barricade near the White House, but she drove off, careening around a traffic circle and past the north side of the Capitol. Video shot by a TV cameraman showed police pointing firearms at her car before she rammed a Secret Service vehicle and continued driving.

Police said they shot and killed after pursuing her to the Capitol. A 1-year-old girl was found in the car and was taken to a hospital, where she was in good condition under protective custody.

Police described what happened as an isolated event and said they saw no indications of terrorism.

Still, tourists, congressional staff and even some senators watched anxiously as a caravan of law enforcement vehicles chased the black Infiniti with Connecticut license plates down Constitution Avenue outside the Capitol and as officers with high-powered firearms canvased the area. The House and Senate both abruptly suspended business, a lawmaker's speech cut off in mid-sentence, as the Capitol Police broadcast a message over its emergency radio system telling people to stay in place and move away from the windows.

One Secret Service member and a 23-year veteran of the Capitol Police were injured in the incident. Officials said they are in good condition and expected to recover.

Congressman Michael McCaul, who said he was briefed by the Homeland Security Department, said he did not think the woman was armed. "There was no return fire," he said.

A few senators between the Capitol and their office buildings said they heard the shots.

"We heard three, four, five pops," said Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. Police ordered Casey and nearby tourists to crouch behind a car for protection, then hustled everyone into the Capitol.

Others witnessed the incident, too.

"There were multiple shots fired and the air was filled with gunpowder," said Berin Szoka, whose office at a technology think tank overlooks the shooting scene.

As for why police opened fire, correspondent Miller reports that will be the subject of an entirely separate administrative investigation as to what was in the mind of each officer when he fired those shots.

The shooting comes two weeks after a mentally disturbed employee terrorized the Navy Yard with a shotgun, leaving 13 people dead including the gunman.

Before the disruption, lawmakers had been trying to find common ground to end a government shutdown. The House had just finished approving legislation aimed at partly lifting the government shutdown by paying National Guard and Reserve members.

Capitol Police on the plaza around the Capitol said they were working without pay as the result of the shutdown. A spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said a bill to pay them was under consideration.