As the government shutdown dragged into its third day Thursday, Capitol Hill was disrupted with a speeding black sedan, gunshots, a Capitol lockdown and one death.
A woman, accompanied by a 1-year-old child, attempted to drive through a White House barrier before turning and speeding toward the U.S. Capitol while police pursued. The chase ended in front of the Hart Senate Office Building, where Capitol Police officers fatally shot the driver.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., works in the Hart building and had just returned to her office after attending meetings in the Capitol. She said she first learned of the gunshots through an emergency alert system Capitol Hill uses that informed her and her staff to “shelter in place” because the Capitol was on lockdown.
Baldwin said her first thought went to her staff, which includes multiple college interns who were new to Capitol Hill.
“It was probably very frightening for the interns to be here at such a moment,” Baldwin said.
But she said the alert system worked well and kept people safe.
“I know that from my own perspective, the system in place appeared to work as it should and I felt like my staff and even our fairly new college interns had already gotten detailed security briefings,” Baldwin said. “They knew where to go and report.”
She also thanked the Capitol Police, who she considers “an extended family on Capitol Hill,” for the job it did in protecting those near the site during the chase.
“A day like today reminds you how much they do to protect the safety of the public and all the people who work here,” Baldwin said.
