‘I really don’t know why she decided to do this’: Mother-in-law of the woman shot dead in U.S. Capitol

She was identified in U.S. media as a backer of the President from San Diego, California, who had served in the United States Air Force.

Photo credit Twitter/Ashli Babbitt

The woman who died on Wednesday of a bullet wound during the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol was shot by police, authorities said.

The only fatality tied to Wednesday’s unrest was the woman, reportedly a dedicated Donald Trump backer and air force veteran who was among a throng of supporters of the President that invaded the U.S. legislature.

The dead woman was identified in U.S. media as Ashli Babbitt, a backer of the President from San Diego, California who had served in the United States Air Force.

She was shot amid chaotic and violent scenes inside the Capitol building, where some security personnel drew their guns to protect lawmakers as protesters advanced.

“She was a strong supporter of President Trump,” San Diego TV station KUSI reported, citing the woman's husband.

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump climb on walls at the U.S. Capitol.

An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington.

Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier.

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they invade the Inauguration platform.

The mob is forcibly removed after breaking into the building and halting the constitutional process of voting to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

The nation’s elected representatives scramble to crouch under desks and while police futilely tried to barricade the building.

People take shelter in the U.S. House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol.

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump protest in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

The rioters were egged on by Donald Trump, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to descend on Washington.

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Babbitt identified herself as a veteran on her Twitter account and noted her love for the U.S. She had recently retweeted messages in support of Mr. Trump and from those coming to Washington for Wednesday's rally.

“Nothing will stop us....they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours....dark to light!,” she wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

“I really don't know why she decided to do this,” her mother-in-law reportedly told the station about her trip to Washington to join pro-Trump protests.

Washington police chief Robert Contee said three other people, one woman and two men, had died on Wednesday in the area around the Capitol, but did not link those deaths to the violence.