by sunny » Fri May 26, 2006 8:34 pm
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060526/pl_afp/uscongresssecurity">news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2006...sssecurity</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>~snip~<br><br>Republican Representative Jim Saxton (news, bio, voting record), speaking to Fox television, said he was in an elevator at the garage level of the Rayburn House Office building, when he heard what he thought was gunfire.<br><br>"I heard what I thought to be between six and ten shots," the Republican lawmaker said.<br><br>"It sounded exactly like gunfire to me. It was not of a backfire nature. It was the sharp crack as comes out of a weapon."<br><br>Saxton continued: "I dove back into the elevator, rushed back to my office and asked my chief of staff to report what I had seen or heard to the Capitol Hill Police, which she did, and that started the chain of events that unfolded over the course of the day."<br><br>The report prompted police to lock down the Capitol dome building and Rayburn for more than five hours, while they searched in vain for a possible gunman, trapping lawmakers, visitors and office workers in the congressional complex.<br><br>The House was not in session at the time, with the exception of a couple of congressional hearings, while debate in the Senate was suspended early as a precaution. Nevertheless, there were hundreds if not thousands of people affected by the security clampdown.<br><br>The scene was one of barely-controlled panic, as armed Capitol police officers surrounded the complex. No one was allowed to enter Rayburn, and at least four ambulances were deployed outside the building.<br><br>Meanwhile, hapless tourists who had been sightseeing at Congress -- one of Washington's top attractions -- were required to sit immobile on the floors of the congressional corridors while police conducted a laborious, room-by-room search of the building.<br><br>Police eventually reopened the Capitol building but kept the Rayburn building under seal, finally calling off the entire lockdown after five long hours, during which a large part of the US Congress was brought to a standstill.<br><br>Eventually Capitol police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider revealed that the misunderstanding was result of noise from nearby construction.<br><br>"There were some workers working in the area of the Rayburn garage and elevator area," Schneder said. "In doing their routine duties they made some sort after noise that sounded like shots fired."<br><br>The incident appears to be the latest example of a capital city in the throes of post-September 11 jitters, and prone to fears of violent attack at every turn.<br><br>After the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, extensive security procedures were put in place, including metal detectors at all entrances of the complex, along with numerous video cameras. But nerves remain fragile with several security false alarms that have led to lockdowns and mass evacuations over the past few years.<br><br>Capitol Police operations late Friday finally gave an all-clear allowing allowing members of Congress, staff workers and visitors to enter and exit the Rayburn building again.<br><br>Saxton, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>without apologizing</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> for the mayhem his report unleashed, told Fox television that the silver lining in the whole episode was that it gave Capitol Police a chance to shine.<br><br>"It showed how prepared the Capitol Hill police are to respond to these kinds of events, and not only the Capitol Police, but the <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> FBI and the other investigators</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> and scientists who were here trying to discover what happened throughout the day," he said. <br><br>"It was a great testament to a lot of people who were highly trained and very capable of taking care of the situation," said Saxton.<br><br> <p></p><i></i>
