Gunman arrested after shooting guard at U.S. Census Bureau

[April 10, 2015]  (Reuters) - A gunman was taken into custody after kidnapping a woman, shooting a security guard at a gate outside the U.S. Census Bureau headquarters in Maryland, and then trading gunfire with Washington, D.C., police on Thursday evening, officials said.

Washington, D.C., police responded to a call about an armed kidnapping around 5:30 p.m. local time, and then another call about the shooting at the Census Bureau building in Suitland, Maryland, about half an hour later, Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier told reporters.

Lanier said the suspect forced a woman into a green Honda and then drove to the government building and shot a guard who approached the vehicle while the two people inside the car were having a "domestic fight."

The guard was shot in the upper body and taken to a local hospital in "extremely critical condition," said Mark Brady, spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire Department. Brady said he did not know if the guard, an adult male, was a federal employee or a contractor.

ABC News reported early on Friday morning that the guard had died in hospital.

After fleeing the scene of that shooting the driver then fled the scene, firing shots at police at various spots in the city before the chase ended in a gunfight in which both the suspect and an officer were shot, Lanier said. Police said the officer was shot in the ankle during the incident.

Lanier said officers later made contact with the kidnapped woman, according to a video of the news conference published online by local broadcaster WJLA-TV.

In a statement on its Twitter account, the Census Bureau said there had been an "incident" at the Suitland Federal Center and there an investigation was underway.

"We are committed to the safety of all staff who work at the Census Bureau and are currently making sure that everyone is safe and secure," the statement said.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski in Chicago and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Eric Beech and Eric Walsh)

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