The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said that his office has launched a federal investigation into the death of Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed protester who a cop killed in the Capitol building on Wednesday, The Epoch Times reported.
Michael Sherwin said his office’s civil rights division will investigate whether the police officer used excessive force when he shot and killed Babbitt. The D.C. Police and the FBI are investigating the killing, too.
Graphic video shows a police officer shooting Babbitt with a group of people who are trying to break through a door in the Capitol building.
As Babbitt tries to jump through a window into the next room, the officer steps forward and shoots her. She died in the hospital shortly after.
Babbitt was a 35-year-old, 14-year veteran of the Air Force.
Thomas Baranyi, a 28-year-old witness, described the shooting.
“We had stormed into the chambers inside and there was a young lady who rushed to the windows,” he said “A number of police and Secret Service were saying ‘get back, get down, get out of the way.’ She didn’t heed the call.”
She did not listen to the officer’s commands, but Baranyi said he tried to stop her.
“And as we kind of raced up to grab people and pull them back, they shot her in the neck, and she fell back on me and started to say she was fine. It’s cool. And then she started moving weird and blood was coming out of her mouth and neck and nose,” he said.
“Just make sure people know, because this cannot stand anymore,” he said. “This is wrong. They don’t represent anyone. Not Republican, Democrat, Independent, nobody. And now they’ll just, they’ll kill people.”
Babbitt’s grandfather Tony Mazziott spoke on “Good Morning America” and called his granddaughter an “excellent patriot” and a “loving person.”
“She served time in the military and she’s passionate about everything, particularly Donald Trump for some reason,” he said.
