Family says woman fatally shot in U.S. Capitol was Ocean Beach resident
Family identifies her as Ashli Babbitt, 35, an Air Force veteran.
A woman who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 during a violent protest by supporters of President Donald Trump was an Ocean Beach resident, according to her extended family and media reports.
Her husband confirmed to KUSI-TV that the woman, whose shooting was caught on video, was 35-year-old Ashli Elizabeth Babbitt and said she was an Air Force veteran.
The San Diego Union-Tribune spoke to a family member who after seeing videos of the shooting was convinced that the woman was Babbitt. “It’s her. It’s her. It’s definitely her,” the family member said.
But the family had not been able to confirm that with authorities in Washington. “No one has contacted us,” the family member said. “No official person has gotten back to us, despite the many phone calls.”
Videos showing the encounter quickly spread online. One shows several people at the doors of the Speaker’s Lobby, a hallway leading to the House chamber. The top half of the doors are made of glass, and in the video the doors look to be barricaded on the inside with chairs and tables. A few people in the crowd beat the panes until they break.
A woman starts to climb through a broken window. A single gunshot cracks and the woman falls back to the floor. Others surround her and some shout for help.
Washington, D.C., Police Chief Robert Contee said the woman was shot by U.S. Capitol Police. Contee did not release her name. He also said three others died during the occupation of the Capitol in “medical emergencies.”
Shortly after KUSI first reported Babbitt’s name, a Facebook profile for her listed the name of her current husband. Later in the evening, the profile had been changed and his name removed.
Reporters and camera crews gathered outside the couple’s home into the night, but there was no sign of anyone inside.
Business records show Babbitt was the chief executive of Fowler’s Pool Service & Supply Inc. in Spring Valley. Her husband is listed as the company’s chief financial officer.
In an email, Babbitt’s ex-husband, Timothy McEntee, called her “a wonderful woman with a big heart and a strong mind.” McEntee said he and Babbitt were married from April 2005 until May 2019. Her Facebook page indicates she remarried that year.
“I am in a state of shock and feel absolutely terrible for her family,” McEntee wrote. “She loved America with all her heart. It’s truly a sad day.”
McEntee and Babbitt served together in the Air Force while married. McEntee wrote that he instantly recognized Babbitt when he saw a photo of the woman who was shot.
“[I] immediately knew it was her but was unaware she was in town, so I initially had doubts because she lives in California,” McEntee wrote. “But [I] reached out to a friend and he said she was in town for the rally.”
A Twitter account that appears to be hers included a photo posted in September of her in a “We are Q” shirt in front of a harbor, with hashtags that included #TrumpBoatParade2020. The post also included the acronym WWG1WGA — “Where we go one, we go all” — used by followers of QAnon, which promotes conspiracy theories.
