Iraqi veteran cop attacked with fire extinguisher, fifth killed in Capitol assault

Azhenedt Sanabria carries flowers to lay on the ground near the Capitol to pay tribute to the agent killed in the assault.JOE RAEDLE / AFP

Almost two days after the assault on the Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump, the death toll continues to rise.

The fifth to be killed Thursday night is Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, 42.

According to two of his companions, quoted by

The New York Times

, this veteran of the Iraq war was attacked by the assailants with a fire extinguisher.

The other four deceased so far have been identified as protesters, although only one of them died within Congress.

The police have opened an investigation.

Agent Sicknick, a veteran of the Iraq War, is the fourth member of the Capitol security force to die in the line of duty since the Congressional Police Force was founded two centuries ago.

"The Capitol Police express their deepest condolences to his family and friends for his loss, and mourns the death of a friend and colleague," the body reported Thursday night.

Sicknick was injured "while physically confronting the protesters" and suffered a "collapse" when he returned to the office, a police spokesman reported.

"He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to injuries" after 24 hours of convalescence, the statement read.

The authorities announced this Friday the opening of an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the death of the Sicknick.

The Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, bet that the assailants "must be brought to justice."

One of the detainees so far is a minor.

The arrest report includes that several more instigators of the assault have been arrested, but without publishing an updated number.

The other four deaths identified so far by the authorities are civilians who fervently supported Trump in their networks.

The only victim who died within Congress in the middle of the assault was Ashli ​​Babbit, 35, who was shot by a police officer.

The veteran of the United States Air Force, a resident of San Diego (California), published the day before the violent protest promoted by Trump: “Nothing is going to stop us, the storm is here and it will arrive in Washington in less than 24 hours .

From darkness to light".

Her mother told the media that Babbit was "passionate enough to die for what she believed in."

The Capitol police officer who shot Babbitt has been suspended from duty while Washington DC police and Capitol security forces conduct an investigation into the incident.

"This is a tragic incident and I send my condolences to the family and friends of the victim," said the chief of police in the US capital.

They have not yet released the name of the agent responsible for Babbitt's death.

Another of the deceased protesters had their networks littered with messages in support of Trump.

He is Kevin Greeson, 55, of Athens (Alabama).

“Let's take back the country!

Let's load our weapons and take to the streets! ”Greeson posted on December 17.

The deceased had a medical history of high blood pressure and suffered a heart attack in the middle of the riot.

According to

The New York Times,

Greeson was talking to his wife on the phone when he fell on the street and emergency personnel assisted him and later took him to hospital, where he died.

The youngest fatality is Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, Georgia.

Emergency technicians arrived in time to treat Boyland when Capitol police officers were performing CPR.

The event report details that she was admitted to hospital, but died shortly after admission.

"I think the president's words sparked a riot that killed four of his biggest fans last night and I think we should invoke the 25th amendment right now,"

Boyland's brother-in-law Justin Cave

told

CBS

television

.

"It seems like the first day of the rest of our lives, to be honest," Benjamin Phillips, 50, said in a video as he drove from Pennsylvania to Washington to participate in Trump's rally along with other protesters, according to

The Philadelphia Inquire.

.

Phillips, who was not known to have entered the Capitol as of yet, was a web developer and founder of a pro-Trump social media group.

The newspaper reports that police told some of Phillips' group members that Phillips had suffered a heart attack and died in hospital.

Arrested the vandal who broke into Pelosi's office

The image of Richard Barnett, 60, sitting in the office of the president of Congress Nancy Pelosi, with his feet on the writing, was one of the postcards of the assault.

The Justice Department reported this Friday that Barnett was arrested at his home in Gravette, Arkansas, on charges of trespassing in restricted buildings and theft of public property.

In one video, Barnett boasts of having taken an envelope from the office, but says he did not steal it.

"I left a quarter on his desk," he told

The New York Times

.

Republican congressman Derrick Evans was also charged with broadcasting the attack on his networks, although he later deleted it.

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