BREAKING: Capitol on Lockdown – Shots Fired

28 Mar, 2016 by John Hawkins

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As per usual in these situations, details are sparse. Here’s what we know so far.

From WIVB:

A gunman was taken into custody after shots were fired in the U.S. Capitol complex on Monday, Capitol officials said, and visitors and staff were shut in their offices and told to “shelter in place.”

Initial reports said a police officer sustained minor injuries, but later reports raised doubts about who, if anyone, was shot.

The event unfolded with Congress on recess and lawmakers back in their districts, but the Capitol complex teeming with spring tourists.

…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.

…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.”

Right as I was about to close this out, NEW DETAILS came in….

Larry Dawson of Tennessee was previously arrested at the Capitol after interrupting congressmen and then allegedly assaulting a police officer.

Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said the suspect “drew what appeared to be a weapon and pointed it at officers” during routine screening at the visitors center. One officer fired and struck the suspect, who is undergoing surgery at the hospital (his condition is unknown). A weapon was recovered at the scene. The police officer who fired was injured, as was a female bystander who was not directly involved.

Apparently, this is a crackpot who has done something like this before. Hopefully, the officer and the bystander who were injured will be okay and if the suspect lives, maybe a little time in an asylum or jail will help bring him back to reality.