A Capitol Police officer was among those killed after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. Brian Sicknick, 42, died in a hospital Thursday night, hours after sustaining injuries during the melee.
Sicknick’s death marks the fifth fatality stemming from Wednesday’s riot. One woman who broke into the Capitol was killed by police, while three other members of the crowd died outside the complex after experiencing health-related problems, the details of which remain sketchy.
The circumstances of Sicknick’s death were also not entirely clear as of Friday morning. In a statement, the Capitol Police said that Sicknick had been “injured while physically engaging with protesters,” and had later collapsed before being transported to the hospital. Two law enforcement officials told the New York Times that he had been hit with a fire extinguisher during the chaos.
The Daily Beast reports that Sicknick, a New Jersey native, had been deployed in the Middle East as a member of the Air National Guard before joining the Capitol Police.
His family told ABC News in a statement, that “after a day of fighting for his life, he passed away a hero.” On Thursday night, law enforcement paid tribute to Sicknick on the streets of Washington.
Sicknick is only the fourth member of the Capitol Police to be killed in the line of duty since its founding in 1828, according to the Times.
