Mom: Man Who Killed Himself at DC Barricade Was 'Lost'

Update: The mother of the man who killed himself after driving into a barricade in Washington, DC, was not in "his right state of mind," his mother tells NBC News. Richard Aaron York, 29, father to a 9-year-old boy, was "a good person," "wonderful" and loving, she says, but he was upset at the current state of the world, though his family didn't realize how much. They also suspected he had CTE from concussions he suffered wrestling and playing football in high school, and she tells the Guardian his condition was "progressively getting worse." "He had some trouble in his past, and he was struggling," his mother says. "He struggled with trying to medicate and figure out what was going on." Our original story from Sunday follows:

A man drove his car into a barricade near the US Capitol early Sunday and then began firing gunshots in the air from the burning car before fatally shooting himself, police said. It happened just before 4am at a vehicle barricade set at East Capitol Street and 2nd Street in Washington, the AP reports. It comes at a time when law enforcement authorities across the country are facing an increasing number of threats and federal officials have warned about the potential of violent attacks on government buildings in the days since the FBI's search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Authorities said that the man, whose identity has not been released, crashed into the barricade and that as he was getting out of the car, the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The driver then began shooting, firing several shots into the air as police approached. Capitol Police said the man shot himself as the officers neared. He was later pronounced dead. Police said that "it does not appear the man was targeting any member of Congress" and that investigators are examining the man's background as they try to discern a motive. Both the House and Senate are in recess, and few staff members work in the Capitol complex at that hour. Authorities said that no other injuries were reported and that police do not believe any officers returned fire. The attack is reminiscent of one in April 2021, when a man drove a vehicle into two Capitol Police officers at a checkpoint, killing an 18-year veteran of the force.

(More Capitol riot stories.)