Miriam Carey, a dental hygienist from Stamford Connecticut, who rammed her Black Nexus into the White House gate, and led Washington D.C. police on a chase down Pennsylvania Avenue before being shot by authorities, reportedly had a history of mental illness, ABC News reported.
Carey believed President Barack Obama had been "electronically monitoring her home in order to broadcast her life on television," ABC News reported. The 34-year-old was killed by police with her 1-year-old daughter still in the car. The girl was reportedly uninjured and placed in police custody after the incident.
The suspect's mother, Idella, told ABC News that her daughter suffered from postpartum depression and had been hospitalized for her illness.
On December 10, 2012, news reports said that police were called to her home by her boyfriend and father of her baby. Eric Francis told police that Carey was emotionally disturbed and that their baby was in danger.
Police then handcuffed Carey when she told police that the U.S. President placed her residential city of Stamford on lockdown, news reports said.
Carey had a family history of schizophrenia and had been taking medication for a mental illness, her mother said. Less than two weeks after the incident with police, her boyfriend again reported that Carey was "off her medication," and had been acting erratically.
A social worker in January, however, said the she was "100 percent back to normal."
"[Carey] circled monuments in front of Capitol Hill twice while being pursued. Then she headed toward the Capitol where Capitol Hill police and Secret Service opened fire and shot her," said Terry Ganier, the Senate Sergeant at Arms.
"This appears to be an isolated, singular matter with... no nexus to terrorism," said Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine.
A Facebook page has been set up in Miriam Carey's memory.
