Asian American becomes 4th officer who responded to Capitol riot to die by suicide

A Washington D.C. Metropolitan police officer (MPD) was found dead of an apparent suicide last week inside his home in Virginia.

A pattern emerges: Gunther Hashida, one of the officers who responded to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, reportedly took his own life last week on Thursday, the Washington Post reported.

Kyle DeFreytag, another officer who also responded to the insurrection, died of suicide on July 10, police confirmed Monday.
While Hashida is now the fourth officer from the Capitol incident responders to die in a similar manner, the authorities have not linked his death to the riot.
MPD Officer Jeffrey Smith and U.S. Capitol Officer Howard Liebengood, both responders to the violent incident, also killed themselves earlier this year.
“We are grieving as a department, and our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Hashida’s family and friends,” MPD spokesperson Kristen Metzger told CNN.

Fallen hero: Hashida, who would have turned 44 on Thursday, became part of the MPD in 2003 and had just been recently assigned to the Emergency Response Team tactical unit.

In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Hashida a hero “who risked his life to save our Capitol, the Congressional community and our very Democracy. All Americans are indebted to him for his great valor and patriotism on January 6 and throughout his selfless service.”
A fundraising campaign has been set up on GoFundMe to fund Hashida’s memorial and support his family.
Hashida’s wife Romelia, mother of their three children, shared a Facebook photo showing Gunther with his arm around her.

Featured Image via Gunther Hashida Memorial & Family Support Fund

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