US Capitol shooting: Husband of Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt hails her as a ‘great patriot’ after she died in riots
THE husband of an Air Force veteran killed in the outrageous riots at the Capitol has hailed her a “great patriot”.
Ashli Babbitt, of San Diego, California, was shot in the neck during the violent confrontation in Washington DC and later died in hospital.
Read our for the latest news as the US Capitol building is put into lockdown
She had served 14 years in the Air Force and had completed four tours of duty her husband – who has not been named – revealed to ,
He also described his late wife, 35, as a big supporter, a “high level security official” and a “great patriot” to all who knew her.
later reported that Babbitt’s mother-in-law told the TV station: “I really don’t know why she decided to do this.”
Babbitt was shot after Trump supporters smashed windows at doors which were barricaded with furniture inside the Capitol building.
One Trump supporter told WUSA 9: “A number of police and secret service were saying ‘get back, get down, get out of the way.’
“She didn’t heed the call 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 she started to say ‘it’s fine, it’s cool’ and then she started kinda moving weird and blood was coming out of her mouth and neck and nose.”
He added: “I’m not injured… it could have been me, but she went in first.”
The day before she was killed, apparently by Capitol Police, , “Nothing will stop us…. they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours….dark to light.”
Babbitt, who used the Twitter handle CommonAshSense, Wednesday morning a “MUST BE DONE LIST before Congress meets today.”
It included, “Mike Pence@vp @Mike_Pence must resign & thereafter be charged with TREASON,” and, “Chief Justice John Roberts must RESIGN.”
In a televised address tonight, Vice President Mike Pence said: “We grieve the loss of life.
“Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the peoples’ house.”
Videos shared on social media earlier in the day showed a crowd of people at the Capitol grounds when a gunshot sounded.
Seconds later, a woman appeared on the floor in shock as people knelt down to help her.
A man was heard shouting, “Where’s she hit?’ “She needs help,” and, “We got to get EMS here.”
Chaos ensued as people around the woman sought aid.
Blood could be seen pouring from her mouth as first responders strapped her onto a stretcher.
Footage from showed her being taken out of the building in a stretcher, and she was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital.
reported that a law enforcement officer fired the gun, but the details of the shooting were not immediately clear.
The incident occurred as dozens of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building as Congress convened to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Congress halted its vote and evacuated the House chambers, as MAGA fans broke into the room.
They later reconvened.
Amid the violence, President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening called on his supporters to go home peacefully, but still refused to concede.
“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” the president tweeted.
“Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”
In a televised speech, for stoking violence.
“I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward,” Biden said.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told that he was with Capitol Police and that he “heard on the radio: ‘.'”
“I have been in this Capitol for more than 10 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” McCarthy said.