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THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: Capitol locked down after gunfire

Friday, May 26, 2006

Capitol locked down after gunfire

Capitol was briefly in lockdown mode after sounds coming from garage

Police briefly sealed off the Capitol on Friday amid reports that shots were fired in the garage of a House office building.

Capitol police were investigating �the sound of gunfire in the garage level of the Rayburn House Office Building,� said an announcement on the internal Capitol voice alarm system.

The Senate was in session at the time, but the House was not.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., conducting a House Intelligence Committee hearing, interrupted a witness to request those attending the meeting to remain in the room and said the doors must be closed.

�It�s a little unsettling to get a Blackberry message put in front of you that says there�s gunfire in the building,� he said.

No confirmation
There was no confirmation of gunfire.

Shortly after police sealed off the Capitol, four ambulances arrived at the garage entrance to the Rayburn House Office building and police expanded the area being sealed off.

�They said they heard gunfire in the Rayburn garage but this is a huge building, I�m guessing it�s a car backfiring or balloons popping,� said Gene Smith, chief of staff to Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., who has an office in Rayburn.

U.S. Capitol Police Department�s Containment & Emergency Response Team maintains an indoor shooting range in the basement of the Rayburn building, according to the department�s Web site.

Jeff Connor, a spokesman for Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., said Capitol Hill police notified the office that gunfire was heard in the Rayburn building garage.

�They specifically said there was the sound of gunfire on one of the garage levels of the Rayburn House office building and asked staff to remain in their offices,� Connor said.

While the House was adjourned for the Memorial Day weekend, at least one committee was meeting.

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