The Capitol was placed under lockdown yesterday after gunfire was heard outside the building. The lockdown was lifted soon after.
UPDATE: Overnight More information has come to light about the deceased woman who yesterday rammed a White House barricade, led the Secret Service and Capitol Police on a chase, and was shot.
NBC reports that the woman was Miriam Carey, a 34-year-old dental hygienist with a history of mental problems. Family members told NBC that she may have been suffering from postpartum depression and law enforcement sources say she may have believed that President Obama was stalking her. The child found in Carey’s Infiniti sedan is believed to be her 18-month-old daughter; the child is unharmed and is in the protection of social services.
The Associated Press discovered that Carey was also sued in November 2012 over condominium fees. The lawsuit was settled in February of this year.
UPDATE 6:25 P.M.: The Capitol Police, Secret Service, FBI, and Metropolitan Police just wrapped up a joint press conference.
Cathy Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police, confirmed that the suspect has been pronounced dead, clearing up conflicting press reports.
We now know that there are two injured: a Secret Service agent, who was struck by the suspect’s car as it attempted to flee the area near the White House, and a 23-year-veteran of the Capitol Police, who was injured when he struck a barricade with his vehicle while attempting to pursue the suspect. Lanier said that both are doing well and Chief of Capitol Police Kim Dine said the officer from his department “is going to be fine.”
Dine also confirmed that a child was in the suspect’s vehicle. A Capitol Police officer rescued the child and made sure it received initial medical care before it was taken to a hospital. Lanier said that the child is “in good condition” and has been placed in protective custody.
There were two locations where shots were fired, but according to Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan, no shots were fired at the White House.
Terrorism has been ruled out, but Lanier said that the incident likely was not random.
“All our information that we have right now is, this does not appear to be in any way an accident,” Lanier said. “This was a lengthy pursuit, there were multiple vehicles that were rammed, there was officers [sic] that were struck, and two security perimeters that were attempted to be breached.”
UPDATE 5:45 P.M.: The car the suspect drove is apparently registered to a Stamford, Connecticut woman.
UPDATE 4:45 P.M.: Alhurra Television and WRC-TV have obtained footage of the incident.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=igOWkLmckvQ
UPDATE 3:22 P.M.: Time says that the FBI has confirmed that one officer was shot. Other reports are still conflicting; Luke Russert of NBC tweets that the officer was injured when his car rammed the suspect’s vehicle.
In addition, Russert reports that there was a baby in the car; it is uninjured and was taken to a hospital.
UPDATE 3:10 P.M.: WRC-TV reports that the female suspect was the vehicle’s driver. After ramming the White House gate and driving to Capitol Hill, she apparently exited her car and opened fire before being shot.
President Obama has been briefed on the shooting, according to a White House press pool report.
UPDATE 3:05 P.M.: The Capitol Plaza has been reopened. Chad Pergram of Fox News reports that officers and tactical teams armed with long guns are in the area.
The Secret Service has confirmed that the car slammed into the South side White House gate before fleeing towards the Capitol.
UPDATE 2:52 P.M.: Capitol Police say they have the shooter in custody. According to Mike Levine of ABC, the shooting occurred after someone attempted to ram the gate/barricade at the White House. A chase ensued, which ended with gunfire on Capitol Hill.
The White House is in partial lockdown.
UPDATE 2:40 P.M.: Police were apparently chasing a black vehicle near the Capitol building. Shots rang out after they managed to corner the car. One Capitol police officer is reported injured, apparently by the vehicle, and there appears to be a medevac helicopter on the scene.
A shelter in place order has been given.