At least four people died on the US Capitol grounds Wednesday and 52 people have been arrested, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J Contee said Wednesday evening, after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an unprecedented effort to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden's election victory.
In a late-night news conference, Contee said that 47 of the 52 arrests to date were related to violations of Mayor Muriel Bowser's 6 p.m. curfew, with 26 of those involving people arrested on US Capitol grounds.
Several others were arrested on charges related to carrying unlicensed or prohibited firearms.
In addition, Contee said, two pipe bombs were recovered from the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees, as well as a cooler from a vehicle on U.S. Capitol grounds that contained Molotov cocktails.
Contee declined to identify the woman a Capitol Police officer shot and killed, saying next of kin notification was still pending.
Three other people died on Wednesday because of medical emergencies, he added.
Several lawmakers slammed Trump for inciting violence, with some calling for his immediate impeachment and removal.
The chaos in the unfolded after President Trump spent weeks whipping up his supporters with false allegations of fraud in the Nov. 3 election, culminating in a call to march to the building that represents US democracy.
Trump, who has refused to concede his loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, had urged his supporters multiple times to come to Washington for a rally on Wednesday, the day the US House of Representatives and Senate were scheduled to certify the results of the Electoral College.