WASHINGTON– The Capitol Hill area, seat of the Congress in Washington, was isolated by the police after an armed man threatened the visitors’ security guards. Shots were warned in the visitor center, but the dynamics of what happened is not yet clear. According to the police spokesman, the man pointed a weapon against the visitors’ control officers, the officers wounded him, blocked him and then transported him to the hospital. A woman was hit by shrapnel due to the shooting and was also taken to the hospital. The security alert has therefore been triggered by the “action of a single individual” and “there is no reason to believe that it was anything more than a criminal act,” the Congress police added at a press conference.

In the following minutes, in an understandable climate of chaos, routine security measures were taken: all the people present – visitors and members and employees of the Congress – were forced to go to the refuge areas, the entire block was closed and creased. The White House area was also closed as a precautionary measure. The situation at the presidential residence returned to normal within a few minutes and immediately afterwards also in the Campidoglio area. “The Capitol Hill incident is isolated and there is no threat underway,” reported the District of Columbia police hosting Washington.