Officer slain in vehicle attack at Capitol identified

Capitol Police announced the name of the officer slain in Friday’s Capitol attack.

Officer William “Billy” Evans was an 18 year veteran of the Capitol Police force, and died shortly after an altercation with Noah Green, a 25-year-old man from Indiana, who multiple reports have identified as the suspect who rammed his car into a barricade before authorities say he charged at the police.

“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the passing of Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans this afternoon from injuries he sustained following an attack at the North Barricade by a lone assailant,” Capitol Police said in a statement acknowledging his death.

Statement on the Loss of USCP Colleague Officer William “Billy” Evans: https://t.co/JMAEbTcbAp pic.twitter.com/DPvkAv5ptO

— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) April 2, 2021

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ordered Capitol flags to be flown half-staff in Evans’s honor.

“Today, America’s heart has been broken by the tragic and heroic death of one of our Capitol Police heroes: Officer William Evans. He is a martyr for our democracy,” she said in a statement.

Evans is the third U.S. Capitol Police officer to die this year.

“Once again, brave officers of the United States Capitol Police have been violently attacked while simply doing their job,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement.

“I am heartbroken that Officer William F. Evans was killed in the line of duty defending the Capitol,” he added. “His name will go down in history for his selfless sacrifice.”

A senior law enforcement official identified Green to The New York Times.

Without identifying the suspect by name, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said the suspect was not previously known by the agency.

Green was shot and killed by police shortly after he allegedly drove his car into two officers, crashed into a Senate-side barricade and then exited the vehicle, “lunging” at the officers with a knife, Pittman said earlier Friday.

It is not clear if Evans is the officer who shot Green or what injuries Evans suffered during the altercation.