Rep. Sherrill Responds After NJ Native Killed In Capitol Riots

WASHINGTON, DC — New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill has responded to news that Capitol Hill Police Officer and New Jersey native Brian Sicknick has died after engaging with protesters during Wednesday's Capitol riots.

"Brian Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police Officer and New Jersey native, was murdered on Capitol grounds. To see someone fall in the line of duty is heartbreaking. Those responsible must be brought to justice," she said.

Gov. Phil Murphy also paid tribute to Sicknick, who grew up in South River and is an Iraq War veteran, said Murphy. He is also a graduate of Middlesex County vo-tech schools.

Sicknick died at 9:30 Thursday night after he was injured while physically engaging with the rioters. He collapsed later in the day back at his office, and was then taken to a hospital, where he died, according to Capitol Police.

Anonymous law enforcement officers told the New York Times protesters hit Sicknick with a fire extinguisher.

Officer Sicknick joined the Capitol Hill Police in July 2008, and most recently served in the Department's First Responder's Unit.

Sicknick is the only officer who has died, although other police were injured. Five protesters are dead. The U.S Attorney General has opened a federal probe to find the person, or people, responsible for Sicknick's death.

"He succumbed to injuries he suffered defending the U.S. Capitol against the violent mob who stormed it," said Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen.

According to Murphy, Sicknick "embodied the selfless spirit of his native state (New Jersey)."

"Sicknick was a product of South River and a graduate of the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools," said the New Jersey governor. "Before joining the Capitol Police, he was Staff Sergeant Sicknick with the New Jersey Air National Guard."

Sicknick was also a Fire Team Member and Leader with the 108th Security Force Squadron, 108th Wing, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. He was also deployed overseas during the Iraq War, in Operation Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom.

"Officer Sicknick gave his life protecting the United States Capitol, and by extension, our very democracy, from violent insurrection," said Murphy. "His needless murder at the hands of a mob bent on overthrowing the Constitution he had dedicated his life to upholding is shocking. It is my fervent hope that the rioters whose actions directly contributed to his death are quickly identified and brought to justice."

READ MORE: Cop Who Died After Capitol Hill Riots Was From NJ: Gov. Murphy

With reporting from Carly Baldwin.