Capitol Police order shelter in place after report of shots
Man shot by police after drawing weapon at US Capitol
ERICA WERNER, AP Congressional Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — Capitol Police shot a man on Monday after he pulled a weapon at a U.S. Capitol checkpoint. The suspect was taken to a local hospital and a female bystander sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The U.S. Capitol was on lockdown for about an hour and the White House also was briefly locked down. As Washington teemed with spring tourists in town to view the cherry blossoms, staff members and visitors to the Capitol were rushed into offices and told to shelter in place.
The suspect was known to officers, Capitol Chief of Police Matthew R. Verderosa told reporters. However, he would not confirm reports that it was the same man who disrupted the House chamber last fall by shouting.
That man, Larry Dawson, was issued a "stay away order" by D.C. Superior Court in October, ordering him to keep away from the Capitol grounds, court documents show.
The event unfolded with Congress on recess and lawmakers back in their districts.
"We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa said. Initial reports said a police officer was injured but they proved erroneous.
Capitol office buildings and the Capitol itself were re-opened for business about an hour after the initial reports of gunfire. The Visitors Center where the shooting occurred remained closed as the incident was being investigated.
Visitors were being turned away from the Capitol as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. Police, some carrying long guns, cordoned off the streets immediately around the building, which were thick with tourists.
Cathryn Leff of Temecula, California, in town to lobby with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, said she was going through security at the main entrance to the Capitol Visitors Center when police told people to leave immediately.
Outside, on the plaza just to the east of the Capitol, other officers told those there to "get down behind this wall," she said. "I heard what sounded like two shots off to my left." After a while, police told her and others to keep running. "I felt like I was in a movie. It didn't feel real at all."
Amanda Smith of Columbus, Ohio, said she and her family were touring the Capitol and were in the Senate visitors' gallery when she heard police officers' radios start talking about shots being fired.
"Sure, we were worried," she said. "But there were lots of kids around so we didn't make too big a deal of it."
Smith was visiting with her husband, William, and children Ian, 9, and Evan, 4.
From back home in their districts, many lawmakers got in touch with staff to ensure all were safe, and posted thanks on Twitter as it appeared they were.
Earlier in the day, officials conducted an unrelated shelter-in-place drill at the Capitol.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Capitol Police officer was shot Monday at the Capitol Visitor Center complex, and the shooter was taken into custody, Capitol officials and police said.
The event unfolded with Congress on recess and lawmakers back in their districts. The White House was briefly put on lockdown, but that was soon lifted.
The shooting occurred in the Visitors Center of the sprawling Capitol Complex. Staffers, reporters and others were told to "shelter in place" and not allowed to leave their offices. The police officer who was shot was not believed to be seriously injured.
Visitors were being turned away from the Capitol as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. Police, some carrying long guns, cordoned off the streets immediately around the building, which were thick with tourists visiting for spring holidays and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Traffic was jammed in the vicinity, but despite the obvious emergency the scene was relatively calm. A work crew on the north side of the Supreme Court, across the street, was asked to stop work and move away from the building as a precaution.
Capitol Police did not immediately return calls.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Capitol Police officer was shot Monday at the Capitol Visitor Center complex, and the shooter was taken into custody, Capitol officials and police said.
The event unfolded with Congress on recess and lawmakers back in their districts.
It occurred in the Visitors Center of the sprawling Capitol Complex. Staffers, reporters and others were told to "shelter in place" and not allowed to leave their offices. The White House and the Capitol complex were put on lockdown.
The police officer who was shot was not believed to be seriously injured.
Capitol Police did not immediately return calls and no further information was available.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Capitol Police are telling staff in the Capitol complex to shelter in place after a report of gunshots being fired in the Capitol Visitors Center.
The White House also was put on lockdown because of the report.
The situation was apparently contained to the Visitors Center but no further information was immediately available.
A Capitol Police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Gsyly - 3/28/2016 @ 1:58 p.m. CST