4 die in US Capitol mayhem

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 pm curfew, with 26 of those involving people arrested on US Capitol grounds, reports Reuters.

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 US 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.