Capitol shooting suspect known to officers

UPDATE: Capitol Police shot a man today after he pulled a weapon at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Initial reports that a police officer was injured during the shooting were erroneous, but a female bystander did sustain non-life-threatening injuries.

Capitol Chief of Police Matthew R. Verderosa told reporters this afternoon that officers knew the suspect, who was taken to a local hospital.

Verderosa would not confirm reports that the suspect was Larry Dawson, who disrupted the House chamber last fall by shouting. D.C. Superior Court issued a “stay away order” to Dawson in October, which, according to court documents, ordered him to keep away from the Capitol grounds.

“We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act,” Verderosa said. The Capitol and the surrounding office buildings reopened about an hour after the initial reports of gunfire. The Visitor Center remained closed as authorities investigated the crime scene.

Cathryn Leff of Temecula, Calif., 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 Visitor 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,” Leff 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,” she said. “It didn’t feel real at all.”

Amanda Smith of Columbus, Ohio, said she and her family were touring the Capitol and were in the Senate visitors’ gallery when she heard reports on police officers’ radios.

“Sure, we were worried,” she said. “But there were lots of kids around so we didn’t make too big a deal of it.”

Lawmakers, most of whom were back home in their districts, checked in with staff to make sure they were all safe, posting thanks on Twitter as it appeared they were.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (3:40 p.m.): A lone shooter opened fire in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center this afternoon, wounding a police officer. Other officers quickly subdued the attacker, who has not been identified.

Officials put the White House and other areas of the Capitol complex on lockdown, but the shelter-in-place order didn’t last long.

Police have not released any information about the shooter, the kind of weapon used, or what might have prompted the attack.

Although lawmakers are out of town for the spring recess, Washington is packed with visitors enjoying the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Shortly after the shooting, tourists were turned away from the Capitol and emergency vehicles filled the streets. Police quickly cordoned off the area.

The wounded officer is not thought to be seriously injured.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.