#DOJ to probe shooting of Air Force vet Ashli Babbitt in Capitol

The Justice Department is opening an investigation into the shooting death of an Air Force veteran during the Capitol riot on Wednesday.

Ashli Babbitt, 35, died in the melee after she was shot in the chest by a Capitol Police officer while she was trying to climb through a smashed window in an attempt to enter the House Chambers.

Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, told CBS News his office opened a formal excessive force investigation related to Babbitt’s death. The probe will be handled by the office’s civil rights division.

The same division is investigating the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, also a military veteran, who was reportedly bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher as the mob entered the legislative building.

Three others died during the Capitol siege, including Roseanne Boyland, who was trampled to death, and two people who succumbed to medical emergencies.

Babbitt, a native of California, served 14 years in the Air Force. A friend and fellow vet said she was an avid supporter of President Trump who flew cross-country to be at the rally Wednesday. She livestreamed part of the march from the rally to the Capitol.