U.S. Capitol Locked Down After Man Crashes Into Security Barricade
Posted September 18, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington was locked down for a brief time Monday after a man crashed his vehicle into the building’s security barricade.
Police shut the complex down as they investigated the incident, which occurred just before 8am.
One man was arrested, and everyone else at the complex was checked out to ensure that they were authorized to be there.
Staff members were advised to stay in their offices as Capitol Police investigated to make sure there were no other intruders. According to Capitol Police Sgt. Stephen James, the man drove through a barricade on First St., near where a visitors’ centre is under construction. The vehicle also crashed into a water fountain.
Witnesses said the man, wearing a blue ballcap, was chased by police into the Capitol near the Rotunda. He was reportedly arrested in a construction area on the building’s third floor.
The suspect’s name has not been released and there’s no word on a motive behind the incident. Within an hour the Capitol was reopened. Police cordoned off the vehicle, described as a light-coloured SUV. It sustained a damaged front fender in the crash and authorities planned to search it.
It’s not the first time Capitol Police have had to deal with an intruder. In the summer of 1998, two officers were shot to death after a man with a history of mental illness opened fire inside the building. He was wounded and subsequently apprehended.
