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Female suspect first tried to ram through White House Security barricades; security lockdown at the Capitol eased and doors reopened

A volley of shots rang out outside the US Capitol building on Thursday, sending lawmakers and tourists scattering for cover and triggering a massive security operation.

Senators told reporters at the iconic Washington landmark, the seat of Congress, that they had heard up to six shots. Police sealed off the building as emergency vehicles converged at the scene.

About half an hour after the incident began, the security lockdown at the Capitol was eased and the doors reopened.

A female suspect in US Capitol shooting has been killed by police, US official said.

Female suspect in Capitol shooting first tried to ram through White House Security barricades, US official said.

An AFP photographer saw at least one person receiving emergency medical assistance on the north side of the complex, but there was no immediate official word of casualties.

"We heard what was about four shots," Senator Bernie Sanders had said as tourists and lawmakers rushed into the building to take cover and police hurried to secure the area.

Outside the Dirksen office building, which houses senators’ offices, staff members not sent home by the US government shutdown could be seen taking cover behind trees and vehicles.

Every minute or so, the Capitol Police made a loudspeaker announcement: "If you are in an office building, remain sheltered in place."
Emergency vehicles converged on the scene, focused on the north side of the iconic landmark.

Just over a mile away, the White House was also placed in lockdown, with Secret Service agents in tactical gear deploying around the building. The security alert was later partially lifted.

Senators told AFP they had been walking with colleagues from a nearby senatorial annex when they heard shots and been forced to take cover.
"We saw people dropping to the ground. Not hit, taking cover," said Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate were in session when the gunshots were heard. The U.S. government was partially shut down this week when lawmakers failed to agree on a budget.

A source familiar with the situation said the incident started when a vehicle struck a security barrier at 15th and Pennsylvania avenue, near the White House. Police chased the vehicle for about 1 1/2 miles to 2nd Street and Constitution Avenue, near the Capitol, where the shots were fired.

"I was just eating a hot dog over here and I heard about four or five gunshots, and then a swarm of police cars came in wailing their sirens," said Whit Dabney, 13, who was visiting from Louisville, Kentucky, and heard the shots a couple of blocks away.

President Barack Obama has been briefed on reports of gunfire on Washington’s Capitol Hill on Thursday, a White House official said, providing no further details on what happened.

White House staff are in touch with law enforcement and monitoring the incident, the official said.