Multiple media reports indicate the Connecticut woman killed by police in Washington, D.C. yesterday was delusional and suffering from postpartum depression.

Miriam Carey was shot and killed by police after ramming her car into a security barricade outside the White House and then leading authorities on a chase down Constitution Avenue. Her 1-year-old child was in the vehicle during the entire ordeal.

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Carey was delusional and believed President Barack Obama was communicating with her. The AP is also reporting that Carey had a history of mental illness.

Carey's mother told ABC News that her daughter had been suffering from postpartum depression since giving birth in Aug. 2012. The mother says she was hospitalized a few months following the birth. A co-worker at the Bronx dental office at which Carey was employed confirms that, but says Carey had recently been doing better. Her boss, Dr. Steven Oken, of Roslyn, says Carey was a great, hard-working and educated woman.

Erin Jackson, a neighbor of Carey's in Stamford, says Carey seemed like a typical loving and caring new mother.

"From what I knew of Miriam, that was not indicative of her," Jackson says.

Carey's daughter has been placed in protective custody.