A knife attack on the Capitol, killing the policeman and the attacker
A policeman was killed and another was wounded in front of the Capitol building in Washington, DC, after a car stormed a checkpoint and its driver brandished a knife before the police shot him dead.
Police said the attack did not appear to be linked to "terrorism."
Members of Congress are on a parliamentary recess this week, but some of their office members, employees and journalists were present during the accident, yesterday afternoon, local time.
Members of the National Guard deployed on the Capitol since the first attack on the sixth of last January, rushed from the parliamentary office buildings nearby to the building.
Others took up positions near police checkpoints blocking the road.
Television footage showed a blue car colliding with a police barrier on the street.
A helicopter landed in a yard in front of the Capitol before carrying stretchers on board.
"The suspect hit two policemen with his car before hitting a barrier," Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pitman said in a press conference.
She explained that "after that, he got out of the car with a knife in hand" and started walking towards the Capitol police, and then shot him, "adding that one of the two wounded members died of his wounds. She also announced the killing of the suspect."
The Capitol was subjected to strict protection following the attack on it on January 6, by demonstrators supporting former President Donald Trump.
Some of the preventive barriers have been removed recently, and the security perimeter around the headquarters has been narrowed.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the flags to be flown at half-mast in honor of the policeman who was killed.
The accident took place near a checkpoint on the side of the Senate, where its members enter when it is in session.
Police cordoned off several roads around the Congress headquarters.
The Leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said on the social networking site "Twitter": "We are still under the shock of what happened," and thanked the police.
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