President Biden said Friday that he and First Lady Jill Biden are “heartbroken” over the attack by a reported Nation of Islam follower who killed Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” Evans and injured another cop.
Biden also said he’d ordered White House flags lowered to half-staff in honor of the slain cop, adding, “I want to express the nation’s gratitude to the Capitol Police, the National Guard Immediate Response Force, and others who quickly responded to this attack.”
“Jill and I were heartbroken to learn of the violent attack at a security checkpoint on the U.S. Capitol grounds, which killed Officer William Evans of the U.S. Capitol Police, and left a fellow officer fighting for his life,” Biden said in a prepared statement.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to Officer Evans’ family, and everyone grieving his loss. We know what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol, everyone who works there, and those who protect it.”
Biden also invoked the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, describing Evans’ slaying as “the loss of yet another courageous Capitol Police officer.”
The president said he’s been receiving “ongoing briefings” from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan “and will be getting further updates as the investigation proceeds.”
Evans died after he and another, unidentified cop were run down shortly after 1 p.m. by a driver identified as Noah Green, 25, whose since-deleted Facebook page described him as a follower of the Nation of Islam.
Evans was shot and killed when he hopped out of his car and ran toward cops with a knife, authorities said.