Mother Idella Carey says her daughter had been hospitalized, was under treatment

Oct 4, 2013 03:31 GMT  ·  By

The woman who was shot by police as she tried to ram through barricades outside the US Capitol yesterday is believed to have been Miriam Carey, a 34-year-old mother of one who suffered from post-partum depression.

Police are yet to confirm the identity of the victim, but her mother, Idella Carey, has confirmed for ABC News that it was, indeed, her daughter who rammed through a gate at the White House and then engaged the police in a high speed chase that would only end with her dead.

Carey had a 1-year-old daughter and she worked as a dental hygienist in Stamford, Conn.

Authorities refer to the dead female suspect as having a “mental illness,” which Carey’s mother confirms. “She had post-partum depression after having the baby. A few months later, she got sick. She was depressed... She was hospitalized,” Idella Carey says.

The mother had no idea her daughter was in Washington, DC, believing her to be with her daughter at a doctor’s appointment. She says she doesn’t know what prompted this violent outburst.

Miriam Carey had given birth last August.

Two police officers were also injured in yesterday’s dramatic car chase.