Washington – Gunshots have been reported on Monday afternoon in the US Capitol complex. A man pulled out a gun at the Capitol Visitor center on Monday afternoon after the metal detector beep in the entrance. The U.S. Capitol police shot the suspect and quickly took him into custody.
According to a CNN report, the gunman attempted to go through the metal detectors at the Capitol Visitor Center entrance when he was stopped by security. The man then pulled out a gun and he was shot by a Capitol police officer.
“The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the hospital for treatment. The suspect is currently undergoing surgery. His condition is unknown at this time. A weapon was recovered on the scene,” Matthew Verderosa, Capitol Police Chief, said during a brief news conference.
Verderosa also noted that there is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act as it is an act of a single person.
No further gunshots have been reported.
Female civilian injured
A female civilian, who was in the Capitol at the moment, was injured by shrapnel. Initial reports suggested that a U.S. Capitol Police officer was injured. But further reports confirmed otherwise.
Capitol complex locked down
Even though it seems to be an isolated event, the Capitol complex was locked down for nearly an hour following the incident out of percussion.
At the moment, congressional staffers were instructed to lock doors, stay away from windows and move to assigned shelter areas. Now, it is all cleared and the Senate Sergeant at Arms has told staffers and others to return to normal operations.
The D.C. Police Department posted on a tweet that there had been an isolated incident at the U.S. Capitol but there is no active threat to the public.
Source: CNN