Ehrlich on Washington column, August 2, 1998

MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of August 2, 1 998 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. TRAGEDY IN THE CAPITOL Recently the U. S. Capitol was shaken to its foundations by a madman’s bloody rampage. Though the attacker succeeded in taking the lives of two valued members of the Capitol Hill community, his attempt to use fear and violence to shut down the “people’s house” failed. I was on my way back to Baltimore when I learned the terrible news. A gunman with an allegedly history of mental illness stormed one of the security checkpoints in the Capitol, shooting Officer J. J. Chestnut, an Air Force veteran who had been planning to retire from the U. S. Capitol Police next month after 18 years of service, as he lent assistance to tourists. As the gunman rushed through the metal detector, a swarm of Mr. Chestnut’s fellow officers immediately pursued him, exchanging gunfire. The gunman retreated into the office of Majority Whip Tom DeLay, the third-ranking Republican in the House. Special Agent John Gibson, another eighteen-year veteran of the force, was waiting for him, gun drawn. Despite being shot twice, Gibson brought the suspect down. Like a tornado, the attack was over in moments, but the devastation left in its wake— two officers killed, one tourist seriously injured— has permanently altered the lives of the victim’s families. The attack has profoundly affected all members of the Capitol Hill community, but it hits especially close to home for two reasons. First, I am a member of the House Whip organization. Accordingly, I spend a lot of time in the office where the suspect was finally