Police shot and killed a woman Thursday after she rammed a security barricade at the White House, then sped down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol.
Two police officers were injured, neither seriously.
The Capitol and House and Senate office buildings were locked down for about an hour, and startled tourists – some lounging on the West Lawn of the Capitol – were rushed away or told to lie flat on the ground. Videos shot by news crews and others showed the black car just yards away from tourists as police chased it around Garfield Circle at the foot of Capitol Hill.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democrat from Ohio, was walking on Constitution Avenue, about two and a half miles from Capitol Hill, with Senators Robert P. Casey, D-Pa., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., when he heard gunshots and was instructed by Capitol Police to take cover, according to a news release from Brown.
“Today was another reminder of the bravery of police officers and first responders,” Brown said. “I observed Capitol Police officers rushing towards danger while instructing the rest of us to take cover.”
Brown was not harmed in the incident.
Republican Sen. Rob Portman, of Ohio, and Rep. Steve Stivers’, a Columbus Republican whose congressional district includes part of Athens County, were not injured during the shooting, aides confirmed.
kd11710@ohiou.edu
— Scripps Howard Foundation News Wire reporters Andres Rodriguez, Nick Prete, Sihan Zhang and Gavin Stern contributed to this report.
