NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Officials with Christopher Newport University in Newport News Friday night confirmed Noah Green — the man shot and killed by police after he rammed a car into a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol and struck two officers — played football for the school.
Green graduated from CNU with a degree in finance in 2019, according to Jim Hanchett, CNU chief communications officer.
Hanchett also said Green played football for the school for the fall 2017 and 2018 seasons. His bio on the 2018 football roster says he was a defensive back and that his hometown is Covington, Virginia. He went to Alleghany High School.
Authorities have said 25-year-old Green rammed a sedan into the barricade at a checkpoint on Constitution Avenue outside the Capitol around 1 p.m. Friday. Congress is currently on recess.
Officials said he then got out of the vehicle and lunged at police with a knife in his hand before at least one officer shot him.
Both officers and Green were hospitalized after the incident. One officer, identified as 18-year department veteran Officer William “Billy” Evans, died from injuries sustained in the attack, while the other officer is in stable condition with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening.
Green also died after being taken to the hospital.
Investigators are digging into Green’s background and examining whether he had any mental health history as they work to find a motive. They were also working to obtain warrants to access his online accounts.
The New York Times confirmed with law enforcement that a Facebook page in which a user named Noah Green appeared to refer to himself as “Noah X” belonged to the suspect in the attack Friday.
According to NBC News and other news outlets, Green wrote on his now-deactivated Facebook page that the past few years have been “tough,” and the past few months “tougher.”
In his posts, Green talked about being unemployed after leaving his job “partly due to afflictions, but ultimately, in search of a spiritual journey,” NBC reported.
His page also referenced the teachings of the Nation of Islam, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls “deeply racist, antisemitic and anti-LGBT rhetoric of its leaders.”
Green’s final post on Facebook was almost two weeks ago and was a YouTube video called “the crucifixion of Michael Jackson.” In the video, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan defends Michael Jackson.
Another post also showed a Nation of Islam Certificate of Completion for Saviours’ Day Gift 2021. The certificate was for Noah X in Norfolk, Virginia, recognizing a $1,085 gift.
In his CNU football bio, Green said the person in history he’d most like to meet is Malcolm X.
Still, there is no clear motive yet as to why Green went to the Capitol Friday.
Authorities have said that the attack did not appear to be related to terrorism. There was also no immediate connection apparent between Friday’s crash and the Jan. 6 riot. Authorities said Green did not appear to have been on police radar.
WAVY News 10 is also looking further into Green’s connections to the Hampton Roads area where he went to school. Green lived in Hampton Roads for at least the last five years.
However, 10 On Your Side could not independently confirm where Green was in the days leading up to Friday.
Neighbors who used to live near Green in Virginia Beach said they can’t believe he’s accused of taking another person’s life.
“I think we live in a time when you never know who your neighbor is these days,” said one neighbor named Shauntay. She didn’t want to go on camera or give her last name, but confirmed Green is indeed the man who lived above her in the South Lakes Apartments in Virginia Beach for much of the last year.
She said Green moved out of his unit there around the beginning of this year. One woman said he kept to himself, but added that most people do at that complex.
“Yes, I saw him several times like in passing at the mailbox. Seemed like a nice okay guy to me,” she said.
Following President Joe Biden’s Presidential Proclamation to lower the United States flag to honor the Capitol Police officer killed Friday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also ordered that the U.S. and Virginia flags over the state Capitol and all local, state, and federal buildings and grounds in Virginia be flown at half-staff “as a sign of respect for the service and sacrifice of the victims of the attack at the United States Capitol.”
The order is in effect until sunset, April 6.
Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
