Why did Capitol police open fire on an unarmed woman?

The woman who first crashed her car into barricades at the White House before leading police on a chase down Pennsylvania avenue to the Capitol and crashing through barriers was eventually shot to death despite being unarmed.

Could her death have been avoided? Probably not, say authorities:

CBS News correspondent John Miller reports there will likely be an internal investigation into the Capitol Hill car chase that ended with the driver dead.

Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier confirms shots were fired in at least two locations during the chase.

Authorities will want to know what was going through the minds of the officers who opened fire.

Miller says once the car crashed into the barriers outside the White House, training instincts would kick in for officers and Secret Service agents.

Because the White House and Capitol building are sensitive locations, their training and reactions would be heightened.

They would have to assume it was a terror attack and consider the possibility that it might be a car bomb.

Afterwards, police described what happened as an isolated event and said they saw no indications of terrorism.

One can certainly understand the reaction of police. But did they open fire when her car crashed the barricades at the White House? If so, how did they miss her? If not, why?

I find it astonishing that she was able to drive all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol building and crash some barriers there before being taken down.

Carey was driving a black Infiniti sedan when, just after 2 p.m. ET, she struck a security fence outside the White House. She took off after hitting a Secret Service officer with her car.

From there, police said, she sped up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol, reaching 80 mph at one point. Police and the Secret Service stopped her at the foot of the Capitol, but she jammed the car into reverse and took off again as police opened fire.

Carey led police on a chase around the perimeter of the Capitol and crashed her car outside a Senate office building a few minutes later, police said. The police shot at her, and she died a short time later.

Here's a video of the chase.

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