The nation’s capitol was locked down this morning after a report that gunshots were heard in a parking garage of the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C. Susan McAvoy is a spokeswoman in the Washington office of Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell.
Boswell’s on the Select Committee on Intelligence and they had a hearing scheduled this morning for the full committee, in the Rayburn House Office Building south of the capitol building, about the role of the media and leaks of classified information.
That committee meeting began at nine, Iowa time. They’re proceeding with the hearing. The chairman of the committee announced nobody can leave the hearing room, so they’re going ahead and she says Congressman Boswell was just testifying.
The House is already adjourned for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, and many members are already back home in their districts. The committee meeting was scheduled for today so Boswell stayed to attend it and intends to go back to Iowa this (Friday) afternoon. While security guards sought to get more information they were also sending out an alert to congressional staffers.
McAvoy says after 9/11, a system was installed that links to every congressional office, and it was announced immediately by capitol police that something was happening, and they told staffers to please lock their doors.