Stamford woman killed in Capitol shooting

STAMFORD -- A Stamford woman was shot and killed after trying to ram her car into a White House security barrier and leading police on a high-speed chase past the Capitol with her 18-month-old daughter in tow.

Miriam Carey, 34, of 114 Woodside Green, drove her black Infiniti coupe onto a driveway leading to the White House, and over a set of lowered barricades. When Carey couldn't get through a second barrier, she spun the car in the opposite direction, flipping a Secret Service officer over the hood of the car as she sped away, said B.J. Campbell, a tourist from Portland, Ore.

A representative of Carey's family in Brooklyn, N.Y., said the family is still gathering information and was surprised by Thursday's incident.

On Friday morning the law enforcement response appeared to be packing up. Stamford police officers still had the area cordoned off, and residents were still not being allowed into building 114. Residents whose cars were parked in the lot in front of it were able to get out. Bridge Street was reopened. There was still a state environmental response trailer and crew on the scene, though.

Thursday night, fire trucks had lined Washington Boulevard, with a hose line running down to the area of the condo complex's lawn, where there are barbecue grills. Plastic tarpaulins had been strung up around the area, and emergency lights on telescoping poles shone down into it. Stamford police officers kept the public away, and people wearing FBI jackets or plain clothes swarmed around the property.

Residents stood around the edges watching and hoping to get back into their apartments. One had resolved to go to his parents' house, but needed clothes for work the next day. Another had parked his car on a side street, and was considering sleeping in it.

Carey was a licensed dental hygienist and according to a local law enforcement official, she suffered from mental illness, but had no criminal record.

Officials remain on scene on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013 at the Woodside Green condominium complex where Capitol chase suspect and shooting victim Miriam Carey lived. Officials remain on scene on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013 at the Woodside Green condominium complex where Capitol chase suspect and shooting victim Miriam Carey lived. Photo: Christine Hall Photo: Christine Hall Image 1 of / 182 Caption Close Stamford woman killed in Capitol shooting 1 / 182 Back to Gallery

Carey's car at one point was surrounded by police cars, and she managed to escape, careening around a traffic circle and past the north side of the Capitol. Video shot by a TV cameraman showed police pointing firearms at her car before she rammed a Secret Service vehicle and continued driving. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said police shot and killed her just outside the Hart Senate Office Building, a block northeast of the Capitol.

One Secret Service member and a 23-year veteran of the Capitol Police were injured. Officials said they were in good condition and expected to recover.

"This appears to be an isolated, singular matter, with, at this point, no nexus to terrorism," Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine said.

Dine said an officer took the child from the car to a hospital. She is in good condition and under protective custody, officials said.

Soon after Carey was fatally shot, the investigation into the chaotic events led to Stamford. Local police, along with federal law enforcement officials, descended on the Woodside Green condominium complex, bordered by Washington Boulevard and Bridge and Summer streets, just north of downtown.

"A full investigation is underway by federal authorities who are in Stamford currently," Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said. "Stamford police are assisting federal authorities as needed."

City officials were not able to provide further information about the incident, as federal authorities are in charge of the investigation.

Several federal agents, including FBI and Secret Service, were seen entering the complex. The FBI expects the investigation to continue through the night.

"It is a very methodical process not unlike Newtown," an agent on the scene said.

A state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection response truck arrived at the scene around 8:30 p.m.

Investigators are piecing together any clues that would indicate why someone who appeared successful would strap her young daughter into a car seat in the back of a luxury car, drive to the nation's Capitol, which is in the midst of a government shutdown, and act so erratically.

According to public records, Carey lived near her family in Brooklyn, N.Y., from at least 1997 to 2009, when she moved to Stamford. She earned her dental hygiene license from New York state in 2002, and after letting her license expire in July 2008 she applied for and received a license to practice in Connecticut in September 2009. In 2011, she started her own temporary employment firm called Experienced Dental Placements out of her condo.

In 2012, Carey's condo association filed suit against her, but it was later withdrawn for the parties to discuss matters out of court. It's not clear why the suit was filed.

Before entering the condo Thursday evening, police used a bomb-detecting robot to enter Carey's unit, 1C at 114 Woodside Green. Federal agents showed neighbors a photo of the suspect, but did not identify the woman, according to neighbors. Residents of the 212-unit complex were still not being allowed to re-enter their homes as of 9 p.m.

At one point, two plain-clothes officers escorted a woman into the building and emerged a short time later, the woman carrying a small, white dog.

Vanessa Fabre, who said she moved into Woodside Green this past February, shook her head when she heard the woman involved may be one of her neighbors.

"That's crazy," she said.

Fabre had earlier driven into the parking lot of the complex, saw police surrounding it and two news helicopters hovering overhead.

"The people here seem very nice, but there are some weird people here."

Janet Vazquez was among the hundreds of residents barred from entering their apartments while police investigated, said she was alarmed by the situation.

"This is so scary," Vazquez said. "It makes you realize you can't escape stuff like this anymore. It doesn't matter if you live in a big city or a small one."

Kevin Morano said he lives two doors down from the suspect and said he only knew that Carey was a dental hygienist and that she drove fast in a black Infiniti and a white BMW.

"I know one thing; she always drove too fast," Morano said.

Staff writers Wes Duplantier, Maggie Gordon, John Nickerson, Mike Mayko and The Associated Press contributed to this report.