Capitol police have confirmed that an officer who was injured in Wednesday’s riots at the U.S. Capitol died late Thursday night.
Capitol police said in a statement that 40-year-old United States Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, a 15-year-old veteran of the department, "was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters,” adding that “He returned to his division office and collapsed."
While some details are still forthcoming, multiple reports state the officer was injured after being hit in the head by a fire extinguisher after a group of Trump supporters and agitators stormed the Capitol and forced their way inside the building. After being hospitalized, Sicknick was reportedly placed on life support until his family could arrive. His death is now investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch.
Sicknick is the only officer to die, among the roughly 50 officers who were injured during the riots. Ashli Babbitt, a 14-year veteran of the Air Force, was also shot in the neck and killed by Capitol police during the incident as she attempted to breach a locked door in the Capitol building.