Locals Visiting D.C. Witness Capitol Shooting Chaos
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) -- Dozens of people, including kids, ran for cover Monday when a man pulled out what appeared to be a gun and an officer shot him at the Capitol Visitor's Center in Washington D.C.
"Everybody's running and throwing stuff," said one man. "It's just like chaos."
Allison Scaife of Scottdale was with a group of six people from our area visiting D.C. on Monday to check out the cherry blossoms and the sights.
"There were sirens and then they keep blowing their whistles and were yelling at us all to move back." said Scaife.
Scaife and her friends were several blocks away near the White House, but they noticed the commotion.
"The officers, the agents started blowing their whistles, and they told us all to step back onto the sidewalk," said Scaife. She says they were then rushed back yet another block.
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"We weren't sure what was going on," she said.
Police it all started when 66 year-old Larry Dawson of Tennessee attempted to go through a metal detector. When it beeped, he allegedly pulled out what appeared to be a gun and pointed it at officers.
"An officer fired and struck the suspect who was subsequently treated by medical personnel," said Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa. "The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the hospital for treatment."
A female bystander was also hit by shrapnel.
Police say Dawson acted alone. He was also arrested once on charges of disrupting Congress and allegedly claimed to be a "prophet of God" at the time.
He went into surgery but his condition is not known.
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