The suspect is now in police custody.
U.S. Capitol Police shot a Tennessee man named Larry Dawson on Monday afternoon after he pulled out what appeared to be a weapon at the Capitol Visitor Center, law enforcement officials said.
The 66-year-old is in a stable but critical condition. He has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed, Capitol Police said. A female civilian bystander was also injured by shrapnel during the incident, but no U.S. Capitol Police officers were injured.
While this shooting occurred, employees and visitors inside were forced to seek shelter for almost an hour while the White House was put into lockdown for a matter of minutes. Police were alerted to Dawson’s behaviour when he tried to go through a metal detector at the Capitol Visitor Center before the machine started beeping. It was after Dawson drew his weapon and pointed at the security that the shooting began.
“We believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before, and there is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said.
Here’s the very latest.
What we know about today's U.S. Capitol Shooting: pic.twitter.com/x4ITuYZCg6
— Roll Call (@rollcall) March 28, 2016
