Guard wounded in Census Bureau shooting

WASHINGTON — A security guard was critically injured in a shooting Thursday evening at the U.S. Census Bureau’s headquarters in Suitland, Md., in an incident that authorities said began with an abduction in Washington and ended with the suspect shot after a dramatic chase and shootout.

The chaotic events spanned at least two hours and more than 15 miles, police said, starting with an apparent domestic abduction in northeast Washington. The situation erupted at the Census Bureau campus, where employees reported hearing gunshots and were blocked in by law enforcement vehicles, and came to a wild finish in Washington’s busy H Street corridor, where at least 15 police cars appeared among the bars and restaurants.

The incident began about 5:30 p.m. when District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier said a man forced a woman into a Honda. Police believe the two know each other, and one law enforcement official said they are married. Shortly after, the couple were seen arguing in the car outside a Census Bureau campus gate in Prince George’s County, Md., Chief Lanier said. A guard approached the car and was shot several times.

Next, the chief said, the suspect shot at a D.C. police cruiser. Police gave chase, and the suspect later fired again, she said. When he approached the H Street commercial corridor, police rammed his car. The suspect got out and opened fire yet again, and officers fired back to end the incident .

Chief Lanier said late Thursday that the last she had heard, the guard and suspect were alive. She said the woman, who was able to exit the car somewhere between the Census Bureau campus and H Street, was located “in good condition.”

Chief Lanier also said a D.C. police sergeant was hit in the leg. She said the suspect was conscious when carried from the scene. Other law enforcement officials said he was shot in the head. A Prince George’s County fire department spokesman, Mark Brady, said the Census Bureau guard’s condition was “extremely critical.”