STAMFORD, CT (WFSB) -
More than a hundred investigators worked through the night at the Stamford home of the woman at the center of a massive investigation after she led police on a wild chase through the heart of Washington, DC on Thursday afternoon.
Investigators are now trying to figure out what led Miriam Carey, 34, to make the decision to attempt to crash through barricades at the White House and United States Capitol before she was shot and killed by police.
At one point, sources told Eyewitness News, Carey believed the president had her home under electronic surveillance and that she was a prophet predicting the president would put the city of Stamford under a lockdown.
As the event unfolded Thursday, investigators swarmed the apartment complex on Woodside Green where single mother Carey lived. The entire complex was taped off and residents were evacuated while the investigation continued.
Residents were allowed to return to their homes on Friday morning and they said they could not believe the chaotic scene in Washington would be connected to their condo complex.
"It's crazy to me that she lives here and went to DC and did that, especially with a child in the car," said neighbor Kiera Cancian.
A robot was used to ensure the apartment was safe before police entered, and a computer and other items were taken from inside to be used as evidence.
Officials said they did not find any weapons or anything hazardous. However, CNN reported Friday that medications for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were found.
Her 1-year-old daughter, Erica, who was in the car, but was not seriously injured.
Carey's daughter was taken into protective custody and Stamford police said the Connecticut Department of Children and Families is involved with the child. They have also been in contact with the child's father.
Sources said Carey's boyfriend is Eric Francis, who is one of the owners of the "Bluprint Club" in Hartford. Sources said investigators have spoken with Francis.
Family members told CBS News Carey may have been suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter in 2012. Police said Carey was never a serious concern on their radar.
"She was nothing out of the ordinary that would draw attention to her at that point," said Stamford police Chief Jon Fontneau.
A source told Eyewitness News Stamford police have dealt with Carey on at least two occasions in recent years for psychiatric issues after she was fired from a dental hygienist job in October. But it never rose to the criminal level.
Sources told CBS News one of the encounters was December 2012 and it resulted in Carey being taken for a mental health evaluation.
Eyewitness News also learned that a lawsuit was filed against Carey by her condo association last November because she owed more than $1,700 in condo fees, including collection costs.
That matter was settled in February.
Carey, who graduated from the City University of New York in 2007 with a degree in health and nutrition science, had been a dental hygienist in Brooklyn. She moved to Stamford and worked in Connecticut.
Neighbors said they saw a car similar to the black Infinity in the middle of the chaotic scene, and now they're wondering why Carey would have been in Washington, DC, in the first place.
That's what investigators are still trying to figure out.
"It's such a sad story," neighbor Jennifer Ganino said. "When a child is involved, the child has no say. It's just sad to see."
Police cleared the scene at the apartment complex on Woodside Green late Friday afternoon. A truckload of evidence was brought up to Hartford to be processed.
Neighbors told Eyewitness News that Carey kept a low profile.
"I don't think she was harmful," said Karen Regan of Stamford. "She just had issues."
The Sanders Firm, P.C. said on Facebook that they are representing Carey's family.
"From this point, please refrain from trying to contact the family and direct any inquiries to me. We will be giving an official statement in the near future," Attorney Eric Sanders said on the firm's Facebook page.
A Facebook page, which has more than 3,400 "likes", was set up in honor of Carey.
"That's impossible. she works, she holds a job. She wouldn't be in DC. She was just in Connecticut. Two days ago, I spoke to her," read a post with quotes from her sister, Amy.
Copyright 2013 WFSB (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
MONDAY, OCT 7, 2013 01:09 PM CDT
The smearing of Miriam Carey: How the media bungled the Capitol Hill shooting
After police shot her last week, the victim went from being a violent shooter -- to unarmed but a crazy deadbeat
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In the immediate aftermath of Thursday’s fatal shooting of Miriam Carey by DC police (after she rammed into barricades near the White House and led a police chase), the media instantly delivered a certain narrative: A crazy, dangerous, armed shooter was endangering the lives of prominent DC officials and needed to be taken down for safety reasons. When that story was undermined by subsequent developments, a new explanation dominated: The victim was mentally ill and had presumably done crazy things that necessitated her deadly shooting.
But while Carey’s family since corroborated that she indeed suffered from mental illness, the temptation to use this confirmation as evidence that the media (and police) handled this tragedy appropriately, is misguided. Like Alec MacGillis and several others, I am skeptical of the insistence that her shooting was necessary and inevitable.
For one thing, at least one part of the chaotic series of events was clarified: Carey was unarmedand shot after having gotten out of her car.
Ms. Carey managed to get out of the car, and was shot by several officers. According to a law enforcement official, she was not armed, and it was not known whether she presented an immediate danger.
Yet, with few exceptions, the media had little interest in exploring those two tiny details. In fact, they unquestioningly repeated the police narratives which—no surprise there—were intended to justify the shooting.
Falguni A. Sheth, a professor of philosophy and political theory at Hampshire College, writes about politics, race, and feminism at translationexercises.wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @FalguniSheth.
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