Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown was among those moved away from the Hart Senate Office Building when shots rang out. He was walking outside with Democratic Senators Robert Casey of Pennsylvania and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
In this recorded statement from his official website, Senator Brown describes the action:
"We saw a number of police officers go by at fairly high speeds and that’s not uncommon at the Capitol when the Vice President visits or somebody," begins Brown. "But we saw more of them. Then we saw two or three people from right outside the Dirksen Office Building hit the ground, sorta crouch down, and ah, drop to the ground…and then heard three, four, five shots…and the police officers told us to stop and turn around."
Brown says a few minutes later, Capitol Police instructed them to return to the Capitol building. The senator says the incident was another reminder of the bravery of police officers and first responders.
The driver was shot and killed. A young child with her was taken from the vehicle, and does not appear to be harmed.