WASHINGTON – A man threatened to "hurt himself through his actions" by jumping from the seventh floor of the Hart Senate Office Building's inner atrium in Washington D.C., late Monday but was later talked down by police.
The man, who speaks Mandarin, climbed onto a railing about 5:45 p.m. a spokeswoman for U.S. Capitol Police said. After several hours of deliberate negotiations throughout the night, crisis negotiators convinced him to return to safety on the correct side of the railing.
Sergeant Kimberly Schneider said the man had remained quiet on the high railing, but warned he world "hurt himself through his actions" if anyone came close.
The incident unfolded near the office of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). Also on the 7th floor, offices of Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Jack Reid (D-RI), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA).
The Hart Building has glass windows that face inside the building and toward the interior of the atrium.
Police had asked staffers still in the building to close shades and not look at what's going on at the 7th floor. Nor should they record pictures or video.
Police wouldn't comment on earlier reports from Senate sources that the man had thrown a bag and or papers over the barrier and onto the floor of the atrium.
They also do not know if the man may have entered other buildings in the Capitol complex beforehand. However, it is not believed he had a weapon because he cleared security to get into the complex.
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