In D.C., an unlikely threat: Mom killed by police after ramming security gates with toddler in car

Photos: Gunfire outside Capitol

WASHINGTON — The woman who rammed security barriers at the White House and Capitol building on Thursday had a toddler with her, confounding everyone who watched her black sedan crash through gates and lead police through the heart of high-security Washington.

The frantic police chase ended with the woman shot to death, two law enforcement officers injured and the Capitol complex under emergency lockdown.

More than a dozen police shots rang out on two sides of Capitol Hill, sending many legislators, staffers and tourists running for cover. Dozens of police cars and officers converged on the female driver on the Senate side of Capitol Hill. A 1-year-old child was rescued from the car and taken to a nearby hospital.

Law enforcement officials said the Infiniti was registered to a young mother named Miriam Carey, a 34-year-old dental hygienist from Stamford, Conn. They believe it was Carey, with her 1-year-old daughter sitting behind her, at the wheel. There was no sign that she was armed, police said.

Video images showed a young child, her hair in braids, being carried by an officer to the back of a patrol car.

The immediate portrait of Carey that emerged in the hours after the shooting suggested a person unlikely to be found in the center of such violence. Carey, according to public documents, friends and family, had finished college and established a long work history as a dental hygienist.

Her sister, Amy Carey, a Brooklyn nurse, was incredulous when she was reached Thursday afternoon and told what had happened outside the Capitol.

“That’s impossible. She works, she holds a job,” said Amy Carey, who confirmed that her Stamford-based sister drove a black car. She said she knew of nothing that would bring her sister to Washington. “She wouldn’t be in D.C. She was just in Connecticut two days ago, I spoke to her. … I don’t know what’s happening. I can’t answer any more.”

The incident took place in a city already frayed over the government shutdown and a shooting rampage two weeks ago at the Washington Navy Yard that left 13 people dead. The little girl who was rescued from the car was in good condition under protective custody, officials said.

The chase lasted three minutes and covered two miles along some of the most heavily policed streets in the United States. Many of the federal officers who gave chase were working without pay because of the shutdown.

The House of Representatives had just finished a series of votes and was clearing out when shots rang out outside. Many members turned around and locked themselves with their aides in nearby offices.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, said he was planning to speak about the pain that the government shutdown was causing people when members of Congress were told about the shooting around 2:15 p.m.

“I was on the House floor speaking to members and planning to speak on the floor when someone said to stay secure,” Pascrell said.