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Monday, March 18, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Minor Injuries After Shooting at U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON (CN) - At least one woman suffered injuries after a man pulled a gun Monday afternoon while trying to enter a visitors' center at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said.

There is no confirmation yet of the suspect's name, but U.S. Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said he is undergoing surgery at a nearby hospital.

An unknown number of officers reacted with a volley of shots, Verderosa said, after the suspect pulled a gun at 2:39 p.m. during a routine screening in the underground entrance to the Capitol Visitor Center.

Verderosa said the suspect was "known" to Capitol Police but would not confirm media reports that the suspect is a Tennessee man who disrupted House floor proceedings last fall.

"I want to stress that while this is preliminary, based on the initial investigation, 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," Verderosa said.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and police have not yet filed charges, Verderosa said.

Aside from the suspect, a woman between the ages of 35 and 45 suffered minor injuries in the shooting, Verderosa said. He added that no police were harmed.

Police recovered a gun on the scene and found the suspect's car on Capitol property, which they plan to seize after receiving a search warrant.

Though the shooting put both the Capitol complex and the White House on lockdown for a few hours, Verderosa said he expects normal business at the visitor center Tuesday.

The new details contradict prior reports that a U.S. Capitol police officer was injured in the fray.

The D.C. Police Department called the shooting "an isolated incident" in a post to its Twitter account. "There is no active threat to the public," the post says.

Editor's Note

Hours after the shooting Monday, U.S. Capitol Police announced that Larry Dawson, 66, of Tennessee, had been charged in D.C. criminal court with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed.

"The defendant is currently in stable but critical condition and will be presented to the District of Columbia Superior Court upon his release from the hospital," the office said in a statement.

Capitol police were still waiting on a warrant to search Dawson's car at the time of the statement.

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