A career criminal is dead after crashing his automobile into a barrier outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and then opening fire as he exited his flaming vehicle before killing himself.
The United States Capitol Police have identified the suspect as Richard A. York III, age 29, with an address in Delaware.
The Washington Metropolitan Police Department is investigating his behavior. DailyMail.com has contacted the DC police department for comment.
In a news conference, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger informed the reporters that police who approached York after the accident did not hear him speak.
Manger said that police are examining York’s past in an effort to determine a motive. The detectives think that Manger may have sparked the fire that torched his automobile, according to the chief.
Manger said, “The suspect has a criminal background dating back around ten years, but nothing at this time that would connect him to anything at the Capitol.”
York was accused in February 2017 with burglarizing a drugstore in Hellerton, Pennsylvania. In the alleged offense, he was accused of stealing several prohibited narcotics.
York was accused with first-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespass, theft by illegal taking, receiving stolen goods, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance, and use of drug paraphernalia.
In January of 2020, York brutally attacked a coworker in the victim’s Pennsylvania home.
WFMZ said at the time that York accused his colleague of calling the suspect’s mother and then proceeded to beat him, break his television in two, and compel him to flee his house in shorts and a t-shirt in 39 degree temperatures.
As a result of the assault, his legs were blue, and his face was severely swollen.
The station’s report indicates that York continued to vandalize the residence after the victim escaped. At the time, the couple was collaborating on roofing projects in Philadelphia.
During this event, he was charged with aggravated assault, single charges of simple assault and criminal mischief, and a summary offense of harassment.
Other offenses included disorderly conduct convictions in December 2016 and terroristic threats in January 2012, as well as possession of a prohibited drug in February 2012.
York did not spend prison time for the second two charges until November 2013, when he failed a drug test while on probation. For the charges, he was sentenced to between one and two years in jail. The incident occurred shortly before 4 a.m. on Sunday near the East Capitol Street and 2nd Street automobile roadblock in Washington.
According to Capitol Police, York smashed into the barrier, and when he exited the vehicle, it was engulfed in flames.
As police neared, York then opened fire, firing multiple bullets into the air. He then turned the pistol on himself and was subsequently declared dead.
No other injuries were recorded, and authorities do not think that any policemen fired back. There is yet no known motivation for the incident, but authorities are investigating.
Police said in a statement, ‘It does not seem that the suspect was targeting any members of Congress,’ and police are now analyzing the suspect’s past to determine a motivation.
At that hour, both the House and Senate are in recess, and relatively few staff workers are present in the Capitol complex.
In the days after the FBI’s investigation of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, law enforcement agencies around the nation are seeing an increased number of threats, and federal officials have warned of the possibility of violent assaults on government facilities.
Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans, a 41-year member of the Capitol Police, was killed in April 2021 when a guy rammed a car into two policemen at a checkpoint, killing him. Officer Evans was an 18-year veteran of the department.
The driver, 25-year-old Noah Green, exited the vehicle with a knife and was fatally shot by a third officer after lunging at him. The investigators think that Green was deluded and increasingly suicidal.
Evans, a father of two, was raised in North Adams, Massachusetts, a 13,000-person community in the state’s northwest.
His death occurred almost three months after the January 6 Capitol riots, which resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who passed away a day after the uprising.
After pro-Trump protestors stormed the Capitol, months of barbed wire fence encircled the edifice.
Since then, the fence has been dismantled and hundreds of National Guard soldiers who were sent in reaction to the January uprising have returned to their bases, but many on Capitol Hill remain on edge.
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a network of over 160 crisis centers in the United States that offers 24/7 support through a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is open to anybody in emotional or suicidal crises.
