The US Capitol Police have identified the suspect responsible for the incident as 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham from Fairfax. Pham now faces charges of one count of aggravated malicious wounding and one count of malicious wounding, as stated by the USCP.
The USCP issued a statement mentioning that the motivation behind Pham's actions remains unclear at this time. They further added that, based on the current information available, investigators have no indication that the suspect had any prior connection or recognition within the USCP.
In an interview with CNN, Pham's father revealed that his son suffers from schizophrenia. According to records, Pham had previously faced charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer, although those charges were subsequently dropped.
The representative ran into significant destruction within his office. Glass in a conference room was shattered, and computers were broken along the path of the attacker. During a phone interview with CNN, Connolly described the individual as being consumed by uncontrollable rage.
Later on Monday, Connolly revealed that the man had previously reached out to his office. "He had contacted our office seeking assistance, and my staff members were providing him with help," Connolly informed CNN. "However, there is no indication today that the two incidents are connected in any way. While my staff did notice some peculiar statements during their conversations with him, there were no explicit threats made."
Expressing his perspective on the incident, the Virginia Democrat stated that he does not believe there was a specific motivation behind the attack, emphasizing, "I think we are dealing with a genuine case of mental illness."
