Man Shot, Killed Outside U.S. Capitol

A man police fatally shot in a chaotic scene near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday fired at them and did not obey commands to put down his weapon, authorities said.

U.S. Capitol police spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Schneider said the unidentified 35-year-old man sped away in a white car after what should have been a routine traffic stop a few blocks from the Capitol.

Tourists watched the chaotic scene on Capitol Hill unfold right before their eyes.

"I'm really freaked out. It scared me a littlie bit," said Sabrina Pierotti, who was visiting from Indiana

It all started when U.S. Capital Police stopped a Mercedes at Columbus Circle for a routine traffic stop near Union Station. Witnesses say it quickly escalated.

"The police were talking to him and he started speeding away and they started chasing," said Pierotti.

Her father, Kevin Pierotti watched in horror.

"He did a u-turn and drove through the center median," Kevin Pierotti described. "Stones flying. Knocking over things. At this point he was heading straight at us."

"We had to get behind the metal barricades. I thought he was going to run us over," said his daughter.

Within seconds the white Mercedes with temporary tags hit an officer on foot, and then fled on Louisiana Avenue-- at times on the wrong side of the street.

"He had absolutely no regard for any human life whatsoever. By the time he came down Louisiana Avenue, he struck one officer and was on his way to strike another officer," said Sgt. Schneider.

Curious tourists soon found themselves ducking for cover. Robert Drumm was walking with his family from Oklahoma when the chase passed them.

"I heard a crash, I started running up, and that's when I heard the gunshots. It sounded like firecrackers. There was a little pause, then more," said Drumm.

Police say once the car turned just a block from the Capitol and hit a parked car, it slammed into a police cruiser and stopped. However, the driver did manage to hit another officer on a motorcycle.

That's when police shot and killed him. The suspect began shooting at several Capitol Police officers, and police returned fire, Schneider said in e-mailed news release.

She described the melee as "very fast moving, very fluid."

"The officers felt they were being threatened -- they were in fear for their lives," Schneider said.

Tourists say it's the kind of memory of the nation's capital they feared.

"I told my wife, I need a beer. Need to go relax. It was unnerving," said Drumm.

Police still have not identified the 35-year-old suspect. They towed away the white Mercedes late Wednesday evening. Police say they did recover a weapon.