Suspect in US Capitol Hill chase dead: DC Police

A female motorist with a child in her car, who led security on a high-speed chase from the White House area to the Capitol Hill, the seat of Congress, was shot at by the police and pronounced dead.

Two police officials, including one from the Secret Service were also injured in the process.

"The suspect in the vehicle, we do know, was struck by gunfire...The suspect has been pronounced (dead)," Washington DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier, told reporters yesterday.

She confirmed that a one-year-old baby was taken from the car and is now in good condition.

Officials said it appears that there was no nexus to terrorism, while another official described this as an isolated incident.

Earlier the Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine said it was about 2.18 pm local time that the women in the vehicle in the vicinity of the White House apparently attempted to pass a barricade.

Media reports yesterday, said, a child was in a black car with the female suspect who tried to drive through the barricade that blocks the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to vehicles. The driver then proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill, where shots were fired after a high-speed police chase.

Secret Service uniformed division attempted to stop her bid and shots were potentially fired, she said.

The secret service pursued the vehicle. Later, it struck one of the police vehicles near the Capitol Hill, where it crashed into one of the barricades, police said.

Soon thereafter the Capitol Hill was locked down, which was soon lifted.

The incident sparked a massive security response in the region, emergency vehicles converged on to the scene and security was heightened inside the Capitol, which was already tense during shutdown negotiations.