Photo by Brian Allen

Photo by Brian Allen

Police said they have arrested a woman who struck a police cruiser and tried to run over several officers near the Capitol this morning.

Around 9:22 a.m., U.S. Capitol police officers observed “an erratic and aggressive driver” near the 100 block of Independence Avenue SW, said the police department’s communications director, Eva Malecki, at a press conference this morning.

The woman made a U-turn on Independence Avenue “and fled the scene, nearly striking officers and struck at least one other vehicle,” Malecki said. Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Rachel Reid told DCist that the other car was a police cruiser.

Officers pursued the woman briefly until she was stopped at Washington and Independence Avenues SW, Malecki said.

Police fired their weapons at some point, according to Reid, but no injuries have been reported.

Although the case is still ongoing, Malecki said the case appears to be criminal in nature, “with no nexus to terrorism.”

Officials closed streets near Independence Avenue, but they’ve since reopened.

This post has been updated.

Filed Under: capitol, police cruiser, shots fired,