police rammed washington dc
© REUTERS/Erin Scott
Scene of ramming incident in Washington, DC April 2, 2021
Capitol complex remains under lockdown

Update 4/2/2021, 3:02 p.m. ET: Acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Depart Robert Contee noted that the attack does not appear to be "terrorism-related."

He added, "[O]bviously we'll continue to investigate to see if there is some type of nexus along those lines."

Update 4/2/2021, 2:45 p.m. ET: Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman says that the suspect rammed his vehicle into two officers and hit the barricade. At that time, the suspect exited the vehicle with a knife in hand. The officer engaged the suspect, who did not respond to verbal commands, but instead began lunging toward the officers. The officers fired on the suspect. One officer is dead, according to Pittman.

Robert Contee, acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, said that the department is investigating the incident. Conti does not believe that there are any ongoing threats related to the attack at the time of this reporting.

Update 4/2/2021, 2:31 p.m. ET: Members of the National Guard have taken to the streets surrounding the Capitol complex and have begun barricading areas. The Capitol complex remains under lockdown.

Update 4/2/2021, 2:21 p.m. ET: CNN reports that at least one of the police officers was stabbed during the attack.

The suspect has died, according to the outlet.

The U.S. Capitol Police have a brief planned for 2:45 p.m. local time.

Initial report:

At least two officers were injured Friday afternoon after a suspect rammed a vehicle into a barricade at a U.S. Capitol checkpoint.


The incident also reportedly led to at least one suspect being shot in the altercation.

The U.S. Capitol Police on Friday afternoon tweeted, "CRITICAL INCIDENT: USCP is responding to the North Barricade vehicle across point along Independence Avenue for reports someone rammed a vehicle into two USCP officers. A suspect is in custody Both officers are injured. All three have been transported to the hospital."


What are the details?

According to a report from KWQC-TV, Capitol Police said that the incident caused a lockdown at the U.S. Capitol complex, and that staff were told they could not enter or exit Capitol buildings.

Capitol Police, according to the station, said that a suspect "rammed a vehicle into two USCP officers," and that a suspect had been taken into custody in connection with the apparent attack.

One officer was taken by police car to a local hospital for treatment, and the second was transported by emergency medical crews.

A source purporting to be close to the situation told The Daily Beast that the two officers are "seriously hurt."

MSNBC reported that the driver of the vehicle reportedly jumped out of the car armed with a knife after ramming the officers.

This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.