Photo by GarberDC.

Photo by GarberDC.

An armed gunman kidnapped a woman in Northeast, leading to the shooting of a guard at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland and a shootout with police on H Street NE last night, police said.

The incident began around 5:30 p.m. when police officers responded to a call that a guman kidnapped a woman and fled in a green Honda Accord.

Half an hour later, they appeared at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland, where someone inside the vehicle shot a guard. Around 7:35 p.m., police officers saw the Accord in Woodland Terrace and gave chase. The driver shot at officers twice before they were able to block his way, resulting in a crash in the 1100 block of H Street. The suspect and police exchanged fire, leaving both the suspect and a police sergeant injured; both were taken to the area hospitals. The kidnapping victim was successfully located.

Lawrence Buckner, the guard shot at the Census Bureau, died at Prince George’s Hospital Center, Erika Murray, a spokeswoman for the hospital, told WUSA9. He had approached the Accord, where the pair was seen arguing, near a gate of the Census Bureau.

At some point after the shooting at the Census Bureau, the suspect allegedly dropped the victim off, according to WUSA9.

After police gave chase, the suspect shot at a cruiser on Bruce Place SE and again in the 1200 block of Third Street NE. It ended in the dramatic showdown on H Street NE, where passersby witnessed a blur of lights and police cruisers.

“One moment, we are eating tandoori chicken, and the next we are on the floor,” Roberta Shapiro, who was near 12th and H streets NE, told The Washington Post.

Parts of H Street NE, a normally busy thoroughfare, remained closed this morning as officers investigated.

Filed Under: abduction, police chase,