Mourners fill Capitol Rotunda for slain officers

Under the sun drenched skylight of the Capitol Rotunda, mourners filed in silence today around the flag draped caskets of two Capitol Police officers felled by gunfire as they guarded members of Congress, staffers and tourists.

Policemen and other visitors from across the nation joined what Rep. Vic Fazio, D- Calif., called "the family that works here" as he inspected the rare tribute to the slain Capitol Hill policemen.

In the center of the domed room, closed caskets on the marble floor contained the bodies of Officer Jacob (J.J.) Chestnut, killed while helping tourists into the document room door, and Special Agent John Gibson, shot a few feet away after telling staff to take cover.

"This is an especially solemn day," said Fazio, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, responding to why these policemen were being honored in the same way President Lincoln had been more than a century ago. "This is our place. It could be City Hall, a state Capitol, but this is where we work."

Family members and employees of offices involved in or close to the first floor shooting were among the mourners. Some cried as four Capitol Hill police officers in dark blue uniforms and white shoulder braids stood near the caskets. The file of mourners was halted every 15 minutes for a changing of the guard.

"I knew both of them. I saw J.J. almost every day for 12 years," said David Jackson, a messenger for the Capitol Architect, after viewing the caskets. Jackson works in the basement just below the offices of House Majority Whip DeLay and Chief Deputy Majority Whip Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., where the alleged gunman, Russell Eugene Weston Jr., was stopped in his tracks.

"I was coming in the door when I heard the shooting, and took cover behind the ambulance," Jackson said, standing on the stairway cascaded with flowers left by mourners, including a huge display shaped in the form of a badge.

While the House floor will be quiet today save for tributes, the Senate continued with legislative business even as Senators, staff and police stationed on the Senate side continued to grieve and comfort one another. Senate Republican Conference Chairman Connie Mack of Florida said there is "a very heavy cloud of emotion hanging over the floor ... but a sense that we also must carry on and get our business done." Republican Conference Secretary Paul Coverdell of Georgia characterized the mood in the Senate as "somber" and "reverent."