Woman Dies After Being Shot During Riot as Trump Supporters Stormed the Capitol Building

A woman who was shot inside of the Capitol building during the rioting of Donald Trump supporters Wednesday has died.

The woman, whose identity has not been released, has since died, police have confirmed.

The woman was pronounced dead at a local hospital, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department told The New York Times. The spokesperson did not share any further details or say who shot her.

Earlier Wednesday, MPD Chief Robert J. Contee III said during a press conference, "I can confirm that one civilian was reported to have sustained a gunshot wound inside of the Capitol.

"Details of the shooting are not immediately available, and the situation remains under investigation."

The MPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

The shooting happened as thousands of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol while lawmakers counted the certified electoral college ballots to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's win.

The gathering of Trump supporters began earlier Wednesday and eventually moved from the Mall to the Capitol building.

Scores of rioters pushed past law enforcement to breach the Capitol building, and Contee said that a riot was declared. The joint session of Congress was forced to be temporarily suspended and lawmakers were forced to evacuate and shelter-in-place. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later said that the counting of Electoral College ballots would continue Wednesday night.

The riot included reports of gunshots, and rioters were photographed scaling the walls, breaking windows, roaming through the building, looting and vandalism, including in congressional chambers and lawmaker offices. Rioters also ripped an American flag off of a flagpole outside the Capitol building and replaced it with a Trump flag.

Meanwhile, an explosive device was reportedly found and destroyed at the Republican National Committee headquarters just blocks away.

The National Guard was activated amid the chaos, and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a curfew beginning at 6 p.m.

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