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Pictured are Vice President Kamala Harris and Capitol police officer, the late William "Billy" Smith

"In an inexplicable act of violence, a brave U.S. Capitol police officer was killed in the line of duty, while another officer fights for his life," Harris said. "Officer William Evans made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the Capitol and those who work there on behalf of the American people. Officer Evans, his family, and all those who knew him are in our hearts and prayers. We mourn with them during this difficult time."

The vice president said that "we continue to be proud of the courageous men and women who defend the Capitol, especially during a challenging period when they have faced two violent and deadly attacks."

Officer William "Billy" Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force and a member of its first responders unit, was killed after a suspect branding a knife rammed a vehicle outside of the Capitol Building Friday afternoon

The suspect has been identified as 25-year-old Noah Green, who is in custody and faces several charges, including felonious assault and vehicular homicide.

Just after 1 p.m., a man in a blue sedan rammed his vehicle into the North Barricade at the US Capitol, striking 2 USCP officers," US Capitol Police said in a statement. "The Department immediately locked down the Capitol Campus. The man exited the vehicle with a knife and ran toward our officers. At least one officer, drew their weapon and shot the suspect."

The tragic incident comes nearly three months after the Jan 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that left five dead, including Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news sites in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Pictured are Cleveland Ward 1 Councilman Joe Jones and Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Ward 1 Councilman Joe Jones has endorsed Shontel Brown and Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin, Nina Turner relative to the special election for Congress in Ohio's majority Black 11th congressional district, which includes Cleveland, a largely Black pocket of Akron and staggering suburbs of Cuyahoga and Summit counties.

Both Jones and Grifffin are Black.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has set the primary election for Aug. 3 and the general for Nov, 2 as there are seven declared candidates thus far who hope to replace former congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, Fudge now the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President Joe Biden's cabinet.

Griffin is city's council's public safety committee chair and a wannabe city council president, and is a former Community Relations Board director under four-term Black mayor Frank Jackson, who has not said whether he will seek an historic fifth term as mayor this year.

Jones leads the ward with the strongest voting bloc of Black voters and the second strongest voting bloc of the city's 17 wards, the largely Black wards of which are east side wards on the majority Black major American city and the majority White wards primarily west side wards.

"We are going to support Shontel Brown 100 percent because she has been committed and dedicated to serving the community," said Jones of his endorsement of Brown.

Griffin was equally supportive of his candidate, and called Turner, also a former city councilwoman of Jones' Ward 1, a " visionary leader, fiercely committed to improving the lives of people in this community."

Each of the city's wards are comprised of roughly 23,000 residents and Cleveland has some 385,000 residents overall.

Griffin's ward consists of Fairfax, Larchmere, Little Italy, Woodland Hills, and parts of Buckeye-Shaker, University Circle, North Broadway, Slavic Village and Union-Miles, and Jones' ward Lee-Harvard, Lee-Seville, Union-Miles, and part of Mount Pleasant.

The endorsement by Griffin of Turner and by Jones of Brown furthers the racial divide, sources say.

Both Brown and Turner are considered front-runners in a hard-to-call congressional race.