Off-duty U.S. Capitol Police officer has died

(NEXSTAR) – U.S. Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood died Saturday while off-duty, the department announced Sunday. He was 51.

Two people familiar with the matter said the officer’s death was an apparent suicide.

It was not clear whether his death was connected to Wednesday’s events.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Liebengood was assigned to the Senate Division and had been with the department since 2005.

On Twitter Sunday, CBS News Chief Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes said Former Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer told the news organization that Liebengood’s death was a “line of duty casualty.”

Former Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer tells @mkaplantv that Officer Liebengood was on the Hill on Wednesday, and called Liebengood's death a “line of duty casualty” — no less a line of duty casualty than Officer Sicknick's. “These were both line of duty casualties”.

— Nancy Cordes (@nancycordes) January 10, 2021

The office of the U.S. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Gainer’s reported statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.