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Amid Reports Of Shots Fired At U.S. Capitol, An Account From The Grounds

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The U.S. Capitol was on lockdown earlier today after a man drew a weapon in the screening area of the Visitor Center. Police shot and wounded the man. One bystander suffered minor injuries. Both were taken to the hospital.

Congress is in recess, so Paul Singer was one of just a few people inside the Capitol Complex. He's a Washington correspondent for USA Today.

PAUL SINGER: The interesting thing is, there had been a shelter-in-place drill earlier today on the Capitol grounds. And so you can sort of tell the difference because there was no doubt when I saw these police officers sprint out of the cafe that they were going someplace with a purpose. You know, their eyes were wide, and they were grabbing for their guns.

MCEVERS: Police say there's no reason to believe the incident was more than a criminal act. The suspect was known to them. We will bring you more as we learn it. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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