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The woman who was shot and killed when a Trump-supporting mob stormed the US Capitol building has been identified after her family contacted multiple TV stations.
San Diego-based KUSI News was the first to hear from the family, who identified her as Ashli Babbit, a 14-year Air Force veteran who lives "in the San Diego area."
Her husband told KUSI she was a "a strong supporter of President Trump."
Fox 5 DC later heard from Babbit's family, and reported her husband did not come to Washington, D.C. Babbit's mother-in-law told the TV station, "I really don't know why she decided to do this."
Hundreds of Trump supporters entered the Capitol building in a bid to overturn his election defeat, forcing Congress to postpone a session that would have certified Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the November 3 election.
A protester from New Jersey told Washington CBS affiliate WUSA he witnessed the woman being shot at the Capitol after police and other law enforcement officials warned people to get back.
"Well, we had stormed into the chambers inside, and there was a young lady who rushed to the windows; a number of police and Secret Service were saying, 'Get back, get down, get out of the way,'" he said.
"She didn't heed the call and as we kind of raced up to grab people and pull them back, they shot her in the neck, and she fell back on me."
The man told the local television station he saw blood coming from the woman's mouth and neck and nose.
“It could have been me, but she went first,” he said.
Law enforcement agencies in D.C. are investigating the circumstances of the shooting. No additional details, including who shot the victim or if anyone has been arrested, have been made publicly available.
Babbit was brought to a local hospital in critical condition, and was pronounced dead on Wednesday afternoon (local time).
A Twitter account purported to be Babbit's by both Fox 5 DC and the New York Post is full of retweets of conspiracy theories, including those pushed by pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood. The account also retweeted numerous threats of violence.