The woman shot to death on Capitol Hill after trying to ram a White House barricade Thursday was described by neighbors and others as a quiet woman who owned a home-based dental employment business in Connecticut.

More than a dozen shots rang out on two sides of Capitol Hill in midafternoon, sending legislators, staffers and tourists running for cover. Police cars and officers converged on a female driver, whom authorities later said was killed. A 1-year-old child was rescued from the car, a black Infiniti, and taken to a hospital.

The incident took place in a city already frayed over the government shutdown and a shooting rampage two weeks ago at the Washington Navy Yard that left 13 people dead.

PHOTO GALLERY: Gunfire on Capitol Hill


The incident began about 2:12 p.m. at the White House, where President Obama was working inside. Police said the driver of the car tried to breach the barricades at an outer checkpoint on the mansion’s northeastern side. The sedan with Connecticut license plates struck a Secret Service agent as it sped away, police said.

The Hartford Courant, quoting a source with knowledge of the investigation, said the driver was Miriam Iris Carey, 34, a dental hygienist from Stamford.

A spokesman and friend of the Carey family, Dennis Jones, told the Los Angeles Times that the family was meeting with an attorney and would issue a statement later.

[Updated, 9:10 p.m. Oct. 4: Late Thursday, a friend of Carey told New York’s WABC-TV that she couldn’t believe what had happened. “She had a wonderful life,” Yolanda Napoleon said. “I don’t understand.”]


Earlier, the Courant said police entered the Woodside Green condominiums complex in Stamford, where public records say Carey lived.

Several residents told the Courant they did not know Carey but recognized her, her baby and her car.

“I recognized the car, not the woman, the car,” said Wendy Frolick, 64. “Beautiful car. She always keeps it nice and shiny.”

Angela Corrente, 37, said Carey was “pretty quiet” and “pretty much kept to herself.”


“She had a baby,” Corrente told the Courant.

Carey was born in August 1979, most likely in New York state, where her Social Security number was assigned not long after, the Courant said. She appeared to have lived most of her adult life in Brooklyn, N.Y. Two years ago, the paper said, she formed a home-based business, Experienced Dental Placements, which appeared to operate as a temporary employment firm.

nation@latimes.com

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