Man commits suicide after crashing car into barricade near U.S. Capitol


A man shot and killed himself in Washington, D.C., early Sunday after crashing a car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol, National Review reports.
According to Capitol Police, the man rammed a barricade located at East Capitol Street and Second Street at around 4 a.m. His car caught fire, at which point he exited the vehicle and fired his gun several times into the air. Officers approached the man, who then fatally shot himself.
"At this time, it does not appear the man was targeting any members of Congress, who are on recess, and it does not appear officers fired their weapons," authorities said. Per National Review, "[i]nvestigators have not yet identified the man or revealed a motive and are probing the man's background."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Guardian compared the incident to cases from 2021 and 2013, in which individuals rammed barricades near government buildings in the nation's capital. Both attacks resulted in the driver being shot and killed by police.
Others recalled the public suicide in April of climate activist Wynn Bruce, who died after setting himself on fire outside the Supreme Court.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Flying into danger
Feature America's air traffic control system is in crisis. Can it be fixed?
-
Pocket change: The demise of the penny
Feature The penny is being phased out as the Treasury plans to halt production by 2026
-
Time's up: The Democratic gerontocracy
Feature The Democratic party is losing key seats as they refuse to retire aging leaders
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges