Police officer injured in U.S. Capitol shooting incident

Police say the U.S. Capitol has been put on a security lockdown amid reports of possible shots fired outside the building.

A police officer was reported injured after gunshots at the US Capitol in Washington, police said today.

They locked down the entire complex, at least temporarily derailing debate over how to end a government shutdown.

At least one police officer reported injured as shots fired near US Capitol http://t.co/7HbDwoZQGd Chaos at scene: pic.twitter.com/bI9hYhhKr9

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) October 3, 2013

The shooting unfolded after police chased a black car up Constitution Avenue towards the Capitol, said tourist Edmund Ofori-Attah, who walked towards the scene as the car stopped.

“Then I heard the gunfire” and hit the ground, he said.

No joke on Capitol Hill as Cops are running with machine guns as reports of shots being fired at Capitol pic.twitter.com/vdjAKkLP4y

— Marc Schloss (@marcschloss) October 3, 2013

Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat, told reporters he was walking from the Capitol to the Senate Russell Office Building across the street when he noticed several police officers driving fast up Constitution Avenue on motorcycles.

“Within seconds of that,” Casey said, “we heard three, four, five pops,” which he assumed were gunshots. He said police ordered Casey and nearby tourists to crouch behind a car for protection.

In about two minutes, he said, the officers moved everyone into the Capitol.

FBI agents rushed to the scene and the Senate’s top security official Terrance Gainer said: “There are reports of injuries.”

Something happening outside Capitol. Police running around with guns at ready. pic.twitter.com/7JkF5fMzfS

— Alex Leary (@learyreports) October 3, 2013

After nearly an hour, police ended the lockdown.

The shooting comes two weeks after a mentally disturbed employee terrorised the Navy Yard with a shotgun, leaving 13 people dead including the gunman.

As a warning was sounded, the House abruptly went into recess and lawmakers left the chamber floor. The Senate also suspended business.

Before the disruption, lawmakers had been trying to find common ground to end a government shutdown. The House had just finished approving legislation aimed at partly lifting the government shutdown by paying National Guard and Reserve members.

People standing outside the Supreme Court across the street from Congress were hurried into the court building by authorities.

The White House also was briefly locked down after the incident at Capitol Hill and the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the compound was closed to pedestrians. Secret Service said the procedures were precautionary.

A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a vehicle that tried to ram a security barricade at the White House.

The official said a driver tried to drive through a barricade that blocks the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to vehicles. The driver then proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill, where shots were fired.

Later police said the shooting was an isolated incident and not terrorist related.