Monday afternoon, there was a shooting reported at the U.S. Capitol.
Capitol police shot at a male suspect while responding to a report of shots being fired at the Capitol Visitor’s Center. A female bystander may have been injured by shrapnel. The Capitol building was locked down for about an hour after the incident. The Senate tweeted this:
Per USCP, shelter in place has been lifted and the Capitol is open for official business only. Capitol Visitor Center remains closed. #alert
— SenateSergeantAtArms (@SenateSAA) March 28, 2016
The D.C. Police Department said that this has been determined to be an isolated incident:
There has been an isolated incident at the US Capitol. There is no active threat to the public
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) March 28, 2016
The gunman has since been apprehended. So far, no other suspects are at large.
The Capitol Visitor Center is a big underground complex. It includes a cafeteria, gift shop, and meeting rooms for lawyers. Visitors are made to go though a metal detector before entering the Capitol.
Congress is on recess, so there were not very many lawmakers at the capitol today. The legislators were calling staff members to make sure everyone is okay. The Capitol is now open for business, but the Visitors Center area remains closed. Law enforcement said that there is not an immediate threat to the White House.
During the lock down, no one was allowed to enter and exit buildings. They were free to move about within the building. Those that were outside near the complex were told to take cover as a precautionary measure.
An unnamed source at the Visitor Center said the gunman drew his weapon when it set off the metal detector in the Visitor’s Center.
There was some confusion when the story first broke because the police were doing an unrelated active shooter drill at the Capitol.
There are some conflicting reports. Some sources are saying that the officer was the only one that fired a round. Some say that another person may have been injured. The first report said an officer had been shot, but now there may not have been anyone shot. Our thoughts are with those who were injured, and our hopes for a speedy recovery.
Featured image by Pierre-Selim via flickr, available under Creative Commons 2.0 license.
