Gunshots Fired On Capitol Hill
The Capitol Police issued a “Shelter In Place” order for the entire area surrounding the White House and the Capitol building.
During a live news conference at 3:30 p.m. ET, an officer confirmed that the vehicle in question, a reported black Lexus, tried to drive through a barricade at a White House checkpoint. The driver ignored demands to get away from the barrier, and the vehicle hit a police car and sped away, and was immediately pursued by police and the Secret Service. The suspect was reportedly running red lights. The chase ended near the Capitol, where gunshots were fired.
One officer was injured and reportedly had to be extricated from a police car, and a helicopter landed near the Capitol to medevac the officer. The officer now appears to be conscious and breathing.
The “Shelter In Place” lockdown was released after buildings in both areas were secured.
They believe the driver to be a woman from Connecticut. A child was also removed from the suspect’s car and appears uninjured. Police did not know a child was in the car when shots were fired.
The Capitol Police declared that it was an active shooter situation. The gunfire occurred near the Hart Sen. Office Building, where ambulances have arrived at the scene.
The Capitol incident is being reported as a car chase, which began near the White House and ended near the Capitol when the driver got out of the car and got fired at near the Capitol.
President Obama is aware of the situation.
The officer also said that this does NOT appear to be an act of terrorism, but just one isolated incident with one vehicle involved. The Metropolitan Police Department is handling the shooting and investigation and assisting the Secret Service and US Capitol. Facts are still being collected about the child in the car.
The situation is still breaking and developing.
The Suspect Is Reportedly Female
The suspect was reportedly involved in a car chase with the police. There are some reports that the suspect was female and the suspect was killed after driving into a police barricade on Pennsylvania Ave., near the White House, and some reports say that the suspect is in custody.
The shooter is confirmed as dead, which Bloomberg stated on Twitter.
CONFIRMED: Capitol shooter is dead — WATCH LIVE: http://t.co/DX4sSAZFM7
— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) October 3, 2013
A child was also removed from the car of the suspect and appears uninjured, which ABC confirmed via Twitter.
Just in: Source tells ABC News child found unhurt in car of possible suspect in US Capitol shooting
— ABC News (@ABC) October 3, 2013
Updates are continuing.
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