Officer Killed In U.S. Capitol Attack Was From Massachusetts

WASHINGTON, DC — William 'Billy' Evans, the U.S. Capitol police officer who died Friday after a lone assailant rammed his car into him and another officer at a barricade near the national landmark, was a western Massachusetts native, according to reports.

Evans, who became the second line-of-duty death this year for a department still struggling to heal from the Jan. 6 insurrection, grew up in North Adams in Berkshire County. He was a graduate of Drury High School.

He was also a father, childhood friend Jason LaForest told The Berkshire Eagle.

"He turned 41 earlier this year and had two young children, a daughter and a son," LaForest, also a North Adams city councilor, told the newspaper. “He loved telling jokes and carrying out pranks on his friends and family. He loved being a dad. And he was so proud to be a U.S. Capitol Police Officer. He carried his badge everywhere. He was just so proud, and his family was so proud of him. We were all proud of him.”

Evans died after a man rammed his car into Evans and another officer near the north barricade of the U.S. Capitol.

RELATED: Slain Capitol Police Officer Identified After Driver Rams Barrier

Video shows the driver of the crashed car emerging with a knife in his hand and starting to run at the pair of officers, Capitol Police acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters.

Authorities shot the suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 25-year-old Noah Green. He died at a hospital.

Acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman confirmed Evans' death on Friday.

“I just ask that the public continue to keep U.S. Capitol Police and their families in your prayers," Pittman said, according to The Associated Press. "This has been an extremely difficult time for U.S. Capitol Police after the events of Jan. 6 and now the events that have occurred here today.”

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, called Evans “a hometown hero and a patriot."

“We are a grateful nation in mourning,” he said in a statement. “This evening, my thoughts are with his family and friends who are grieving his untimely passing.”

CNN producer Kristin Wilson said Evans always had a kind word for everyone. He also loved to give people grief and told "bad dad jokes," she said told the network.

"He was a nice person, a kind person," Wilson said. "They all hurt, but this one hurts."