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Shooting in Washington DC: Victim Rushed to Hospital

by Amy Judd | July 15, 2009 at 01:47 pm

2410 views | 51 Recommendations | 5 comments

A shooting has taken place outside the Capitol Building in Washington DC and a 35-year-old civilian is being rushed to hospital with critical injuries.

The shooting occurred at New Jersey and C Street at a traffic stop.

The police officers tired to stop a vehicle travelling in the 100 block of Massachusetts Avenue NE, but the driver tried to escape in Columbus Circle, where his car struck and injured an officer. Two officers were injured in total. The vehicle then tried to flee the wrong way down Louisiana Avenue, where it was eventually stopped.

Gunfire was exchanged with police and the gunman suffered life-threatening injuries after as many as 5 to 15 shots were fired. A police officer was also injured in the shooting. The gunman is dead but the bystander is still alive and being treated in hospital.

Channel 7 reports the man was shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer. Witnesses say a white Mercedes Benz was traveling away from Union Station toward a Capitol parking area, where the vehicle crashed into a barricade. That's when gunfire erupted, witnesses said.

Some of the areas around the Capitol Building were sealed off by police.

According to our sister station, WJLA in Washington, the shooting happened at about 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time.

The person -- a civilian was shot, some sources say, by Capitol police. The person was taken to a hospital for treatment and their condition was not immediately available

NowPublic will update this story when more information becomes available.

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at 13:56 on July 15th, 2009

Good early report. I hope there is more.

albertacowpoke

at 14:20 on July 15th, 2009

Info from the Press Conference from Capitol Police. Witnesses say there was a robbery at Union Station. They say the suspect is dead, Mexican American male. One police officer wounded. Witenesses say 5-15 shots were fired. The victim was taken away by ambulance

Capitol Police Briefing. Around 5:15 a routine traffic stop. Vehicle immediate fled. Struck one officer, vehicle continued to flee. Suspect produced a weapon. He was told to put the weapon down and didn.t. The suspect is dead.

As you can see the reports from witnesses and Capitol Police are conflicting.

A pen (not verified)

at 14:40 on July 15th, 2009

It is interesting that the police, the only official survivors, can not communicate the facts without first reviewing witness statements, which they call interviewing the officers on the scene.

There are ethnic descriptions of the deceased however no photos.

There are so far no eyewitnesses to the actual "shooting". It is only reported a gun was displayed and shots fired but no indication of what prompted the escalation.

In any case it is reassuring to know if a law is broken there will be fifty police on scene in seconds.....only if you live in the capitol.