Miriam Carey Had Post-Partum Depression, Says Mother; Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar Meds Found
The investigation surrounding a Connecticut woman who tried to breach the barricades at the White House and was then fatally shot by Capitol police revealed her mental disorders. Law enforcement found medication in her apartment that was prescribed to treat schizophrenia and other problems, reports said Friday.
The woman was identified as Miriam Carey, 34, and police revealed Carey rammed a gate at the White House before turning around and leading police on a chase that ended at Capitol Hill. During the incident, two officers were injured.
Once Miriam was at Capitol Hill, officers opened fired, killing her and rescuing her daughter from the scene.
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She did not have a weapon, but did have a 1-year-old child in the car with her. The child emerged from the chaos unharmed, officials said.
Authorities searched her apartment in Stamford, Conn. and found medication to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, a law enforcement source told ABC News.
Authorities have not officially linked the incident to mental illness or any other cause, but her mother stated that she was suffering from post-partum depression.
"She had postpartum depression after having the baby," Carey's mother, Idella, said. "A few months later, she got sick. She was depressed. She was hospitalized."
Idella did not know why her daughter was in Washington, D.C. when she was supposed to be taking her little girl to a doctor's appointment in Connecticut. Friends are also confused about Miriam's actions and describe her as a "non-political person" who was "always happy."
"I would never in a million years believe that she would do something like this," Miriam's boss, Dr. Steven Oken, told ABC. "It's the furthest thing from anything I would think she would do, especially with her child in the car. I am floored that it would be her."
