The lockdown that gripped the U.S. Capitol this afternoon has now been lifted. The all-clear has been given by Capitol Police and the U.S. House of Representatives is back in session. The “shelter in place” order was caused by a shooting that occurred on the street outside the U.S. Capitol Building.

According to the Capitol Police, the shooting was the end result of a car chase that originated at the White House. A woman attempted to pass a barrier near the White House and was stopped by the Secret Service. As authorities approached, she sped off, leading police on a chase that ended when she hit a police car and then a barricade near the Capitol building.

According to a CNN report, police then opened fire on the woman, who CNN’s sources do not believe fired back. A child that was also in the vehicle with the woman was reportedly uninjured, and was seen being taken from the scene. One officer was reportedly injured in the incident, and has been taken to a nearby hospital where he or she is in stable condition.

Authorities have stated that they do not believe the incident was terrorism-related.

The Capitol Police officers that responded to the scene are currently working without pay due to this week’s government shutdown. Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has refused to bring a Senate-approved stop-gap government funding bill to a vote, which it would likely pass. Instead, the Republican majority in the House has passed multiple versions of its own funding bill, each attaching unrelated rollbacks to the Affordable Care Act. The Democrat majority in the Senate has voted down the House’s version of the bill multiple times.

(Image courtesy NDN)