Posted on 09/18/2006 10:11:18 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - An armed man crashed his vehicle into a security barricade at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, ran into the building and was arrested, forcing the complex to briefly be locked down, authorities said.
The man was armed with a gun, said one security officer speaking anonymously pending an official briefing. The officer said the man was captured by police after running through the Rotunda in the center of the Capitol and down a stairway into the basement. He said the man appeared to be having a seizure, and was taken to a hospital.
A congressional aide said the man appeared to be carrying a small weapon and that an ambulance had been called because of the apparent seizure. The aide said that police were reviewing a videotape of the incident and were expected to release a statement soon.
Police shut down the complex as they investigated the incident, and to ensure that all people there were authorized to be there. The incident happened shortly before 8 a.m., EDT, witnesses said. The Capitol complex was reopened within the hour.
Eric Ueland, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, said that after the capture, police conducted a search through the Capitol to ensure there had been no other penetration.
Construction workers and police said the man drove his SUV through a barricade at the Capitol, where a major visitors' center is under construction. His vehicle also crashed into a water fountain on the plaza in the middle of the construction area.
Witnesses said the man, wearing a blue ballcap, ran into the Capitol near the Rotunda and was pursued by police.
In the summer of 1998, two Capitol Police officers were shot to death when a man with a history of mental illness opened fire in the building. The man was wounded and captured.
Police cordoned off the vehicle, a light-colored SUV, which sustained a damaged front fender, and were searching it.
I've heard that tazors will do that to you , while running:')
Baah -- the fact that they describe him as a "man" tells me that the Religion of Peace© is involved.
He got into the basement?
As far as building security goes, isn't that 'game over' at that point?
No description of the attacker is supplied. No name, nothing. Care to open the wagering on the religious affiliation of the suspect in question?
I hope there is more to this story. As others have said, it is worrisome (actually more than that) that he made it into the building. He could easily have been a bomber from the limited information in the article. Why wasn't he shot/incapacitated outside the building??
So 2 terrorists with an SUV could get into the Capitol building and kill our Congresscritters.
Where's all that security again?
Looking at senator pictures?
MSM headline should read: "Armed SUV attacks Congress"
Could it have been a taser-induced seizure?
to get into the Rotunda, you have to first go up some pretty steep steps outside, thru security inside the doors .. this just doesn't make sense. But what in Washington does ?
Tazors, hmmmmmm......or maybe the guy had some bad spinach. I swear there were a few times in my life I had seizures while running in a panic to the bathroom. :)
Hmmm.....
Aftermath of a Taser shot.... I s'pect
Congress has not got the right to say one word about him not being stopped.
I was wondering where he entered that he managed to get to the Rotunda. From the side where the pictures are taken and the description of his flight I would think he would have entered in the crypt area. That means he would have had to go UP the stairs to get to the Rotunda.
I wonder, and have specualted here, if he didn't start out in the basement.
Borders = no barricades
White House - barricades
I'm sure his name is something harmless like Pete Turner, Joe Smith, Bill Jones, something along those lines... /sarc
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