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A United States Capitol Police officer has been suspended after discharging their service weapon inside a congressional office building, officials say.
The officer, who was not immediately identified, fired the weapon in the break room of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC, Tuesday morning around 8:30 am, US Capitol Police told DailyMail.com.
Sources familiar with the matter told DC outlet Roll Call that the discharge was accidental. No injuries were reported following the incident, cops said, adding that the officer has since been suspended.
An investigation is currently underway.
A United States Capitol Police officer has been suspended after discharging their service weapon inside a congressional office building, officials say. The officer, who was not immediately identified, fired the weapon in the break room of the Cannon House Office Building (pictured) in Washington, DC, Tuesday morning around 8:30 am
The incident comes as security at the US Capitol has faced scrutiny following the January 2021 riots that saw the complex’s main building stormed
‘The Capitol Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is investigating the discharge of a USCP weapon inside a break room in the Cannon Office Building,’ the agency said in a statement Tuesday morning following the shooting.
‘The officer has been suspended while OPR investigates the incident,’ the department stated.
Police did not specify whether the officer’s forced leave was paid or not, nor did they divulge whether the discharge was intentional or not.
Officials declined to comment further due to the ongoing investigation.
The incident comes as security at the US Capitol has faced scrutiny following the January 2021 riots that saw the complex’s main building stormed.
Last month, a military parachute event at nearby MLB stadium Nationals Park inadvertently triggered a ‘probable threat’ warning at the complex, spurring officials to issue an evacuation order.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) subsequently issued an apology for not alerting Capitol Police of the planned demonstration.
In January, a Michigan woman who illegally parked in front of US Capitol Police headquarters with a loaded shotgun and three other weapons was arrested. She told cops she drove some 600 miles because she had important information regarding the January 6 riots.
In December, the Longworth House Office Building of the Capitol complex was put on a shelter-in-place order after a Capitol staffer brought a gun into the building.
The staffer was charged with carrying a pistol without a license in the incident, which transpired just hours before President Biden was to visit the complex for a tribute to late Senator Bob Dole.
In October, Capitol Police detained a suspect from a ‘suspicious vehicle’ parked near the US Supreme Court after the man failed to heed commands from officers, spurring them to use a flashbang device to subdue him.
In August, Capitol police arrested another man who claimed to have a bomb outside the Capitol building, following an hours-long standoff.
Source: Daily Mail
