John Gibson (police officer)

Gibson was a native of Boston, Massachusetts. His wife, Lynn, was the niece of Representative Joe Moakley, a Democrat from Massachusetts. The couple had three children, a daughter and two boys.[1][2]

Gibson was sworn in as a police officer in 1980. He worked for the United States Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., and was a resident of Woodbridge, Virginia.[1]

On July 24, 1998, shooting suspect Russell Eugene Weston Jr. entered the United States Capitol. He shot and killed Officer Jacob Chestnut outside Representative Tom Delay's congressional office. Gibson confronted the suspect and was also shot. Despite being mortally wounded, Gibson was able to return fire and wounded the suspect.[3]

Weston was known to the United States Secret Service prior to the incident as a person who had threatened the President of the United States.[1] The suspect was found mentally unfit to stand trial.[4]

A Capitol Police Honor Guard salutes the coffins of Gibson and Chestnut in the Capitol Rotunda

A memorial service was held in the Capitol on July 28, 1998. Among those in attendance were President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. The coffins of Gibson and Chestnut were displayed in the United States Capitol rotunda,[5] an honor usually reserved for former Presidents, members of Congress, or military heroes. Gibson was buried in Arlington National Cemetery[6] and posthumously awarded the Law Enforcement Purple Heart.[1] His name is engraved in the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial's west wall.[2]

On July 24, 2008, members of Congress paused for a moment of silence to mark the shooting's ten-year anniversary. On the east lawn of the Capitol, Democratic and Republican lawmakers planted a tree in memory of Gibson and Chestnut.[7]

• United States Capitol shooting incident (1954)
• Jacob Chestnut

• Tributes by members of Congress, C-SPAN