'Prophet of God' senior citizen opens fire at U.S. Capitol Complex

'Police appeared out of everywhere and they were screaming, 'Run for it! Run for it! Run up that ramp!''

A 66-year-old man entered the Capitol Visitor Center at the U.S. Capitol Complex on Monday afternoon and opened fire.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Authorities reported the shooting occurred at roughly 2:40 p.m. at the visitor center's entrance after 66-year-old Larry Russell Dawson set off a metal detector alarm.

Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa explained Dawson "drew what appeared to be a weapon and pointed it at a police officer."

Dawson was immediately shot by one of the center's officers and was removed from the building, which underwent a one-hour lockdown.

No news of Dawson's condition has been released, but officer Verderosa explained Dawson is known from prior instances but declined to elaborate.

Officer Verderosa did report Dawson's attempted shooting "is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before." As Congress is currently in recess, Verderosa explained, "There is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act."

No officers were harmed in the brief shooting, but a female bystander described to be between 35 and 45-years-old suffered a  minor injury, the origins of which have yet to be explained.

Officers at the scene described a realistic pistol-type pellet gun is what set off the metal detector at the center's entrance.

Dawson previously disrupted a proceeding of the House of Representatives in October when he shouted he was a "prophet of God" and is believed to have mental health issues, a source told NBC News.

House Speaker Paul Ryan released a statement following the incident to say, "Today we are reminded of the courage and daily sacrifice of the United States Capitol Police. This evening our thoughts and prayers are with all those who faced danger today."

Witness Jill Epstein was present during the interaction between Capitol police and Dawson and recalled, "Police appeared out of everywhere and they were screaming, 'Run for it! Run for it! Run up that ramp!"

Epstein added, " It was surreal. It [w]as so beautiful out and the cherry blossoms are in bloom and people are running for their lives."

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