1998 United States Capitol shooting

1998 United States Capitol shooting
LocationWashington, D.C., US
DateJuly 24, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-07-24)
3:40 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. (UTC-4)
TargetUnited States Capitol
Attack type
Mass shooting
Weapons.38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver
Deaths2
Injured3 (including the perpetrator)
PerpetratorRussell Eugene Weston Jr.

The 1998 United States Capitol shooting occurred on July 24, 1998, when Russell Eugene Weston Jr. entered the Capitol and fatally shot United States Capitol Police officers Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson.[1]

Gibson died during surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center; Chestnut died at George Washington University Hospital.[2] Weston's exact motives are unknown, but he had expressed strong distrust of the federal government of the United States; he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia six years before the attack.[3] Weston was later charged on July 26 for the murder of two U.S. Capitol Police officers during the shooting rampage.[4] As of July 2018,[5] Weston remained in a mental institution.[6][7]

  1. ^ "2 dead, 2 hurt in U.S. Capitol shooting". CNN.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2006. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
  2. ^ Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (February 28, 2018). "Jacob Chestnut & John Gibson: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  3. ^ Marion, Nancy E.; Oliver, Willard (2014). Killing Congress: Assassinations, Attempted Assassinations and Other Violence against Members of Congress. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-8360-1. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  4. ^ Thompson, Michael Grunwald; Cheryl W. (July 26, 1998). "Weston Charged with Murder in Rampage". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Remembering the '98 Capitol shooting (Photos) Archived February 22, 2021, at the Wayback Machine WTOP-FM
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference RollCall_7may08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference CNN_11jan07 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).