Shots were fired in visitor center shortly before 3pm Eastern Time
It came just hours after a scheduled active shooter drill in the building
Visitors were seen screaming and running from the building
Initial reports said an officer was shot and a visitor was hit by shrapnel
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But CNN reports the suspect was shot by officers as he tried to pull a gun
Meanwhile the Obamas are hosting the Easter Egg Roll just meters away
White House was briefly placed on lockdown but that was soon lifted
he US Capitol is on lockdown after a visitor opened fire, shooting and wounding a police officer - just hours after an active shooter drill in the government building.
Staffers
in the visitor center were ordered to shelter in place just before 3pm
(Eastern Time) on Monday as police secured the area.
Initial
reports claimed an officer sustained non-life-threatening gunshot
wounds and a female bystander was injured by shrapnel.
However, CNN reports no officers were wounded. The network says an officer shot the suspect when the suspect produced a gun at the metal detector, and a female visitor was hit by shrapnel.
The suspect has been identified by ABC News
as Donald Trump supporter Larry Dawson, of Tennessee, who was arrested
in the US Capitol for interrupting a House session in October. He has
been taken in to custody.
There
was confusion as the shooting came soon after a scheduled active
shooter drill, which staff had been notified about via email.
Video
posted on Instagram shows crowds running and screaming after the
gunshots sounded. Many were shoe-less, having just taken them off to go
through the security barrier.
Visitors run from the US Capitol building after shots were fired at around 3pm on Easter Monday
Two students hug after being evacuated from the building, apparently with a school group
Crowds of visitors swarmed around outdoors as police stand guard once the shooter had been detained
An officer stands guard as the US Capitol is secured after a visitor opened fire in the visitor center on Monday
The government building (pictured after the shooting) is just meters away from the White House
tT
There was confusion as the shooting came soon after a scheduled active shooter drill in the building
A member of the uniformed Secret
Service walks near the press briefing room and the North Lawn of the
White House minutes after. The White House was briefly placed on
lockdown before the suspect was detained
Officers stand guard after crowds fled screaming from the US Capitol underground security entrance (right)
One visitor, Cathryn Leff from
California, described crowds running and screaming after gunshots
sounded as she was walking through security
Leff described a chaotic scene unfolding. It took place while Congress was on recess for the holiday
According to CNN, the man tried to walk through the metal detector of the visitor center when the bleepers went off.
In
response, he pulled a gun from his jacket - but was immediately shot
and wounded by police, the network reports, leaving a female bystander
injured by the shrapnel.
Widespread reports are identifying the suspect as Larry Dawson of Tennessee.
In
October, Dawson was charged with unlawful conduct and assault on a
police officer after he shouted 'I am a prophet of God' during a House
session. He was escorted out by police, allegedly hurting one in the
process.
On
Monday, visitor Cathryn Leff, who came to D.C. from California for the
holiday, tweeted: 'Was at the #Visitor's Center... shots heard while
going through #security it was a scramble... #Capitol #Evacuated after
hiding behind wall.'
She
added: 'That moment when it goes down ..everyone is screaming &
running and you can't see where the #shotsfired are from.'
The email added: 'If you are outside, seek cover.'
Meanwhile,
the President and First Lady were hosting 35,000 people - including
Beyonce, Jay Z, Shaquille O'Neal, and Idina Menzel - at the White House
Easter Egg Roll just a few hundred meters away.
The
underground visitor center of the Capitol building was created to
provide greater security after two police officers, Jacob Chestnut and
John Gibson, were shot dead by a visitor in 1998.
Visitors enter through a metal detector and bag check.
Part of the building's security measures involve exercise drills.
Indeed, staff received an email at 8am on Monday morning alerting them that they would be doing an active shooter drill.
The
email read in part: 'This is a Shelter-in-Place EXERCISE message from
the USCP. (...) Exercise, Exercise. SHELTER IN PLACE. Gunshots have been
reported on Capitol Hill requiring staff and visitors in the US Capitol
Building to immediately shelter in place.'
The
exercise drill email also featured a bullet-point list, saying the
building was locked down and staff outside should seek cover.
It concluded 'THIS IS A DRILL. EXERCISE EXERCISE.'
But just hours later, staff received that same bullet-point list, causing some confusion.
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