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Man arrested after breach attempt at Capitol
WASHINGTON - A 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. 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. Hill staffers were briefly instructed to remain in their offices while police searched to ensure there were no other interlopers. 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. A construction supervisor said the man was apprehended in a construction area on the third floor of the building. Capitol police were searching room by room, hallway by hallway, Eric Ueland, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told CNN. There have been a string of security alerts involving evacuations of the Capitol and various surrounding office buildings since the Sept. 11 attacks five years ago. This individual was apprehended before he could get his way too far in the Capitol and if he intended to do any damage, not be able to follow through on that, Ueland said. A congressional aide said she had received e-mail from police saying the Capitol building was in lock down because of a security breach and that no one would be allowed access to the building pending a security sweep.
Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-18 |
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