April 9, 2015: Police search a parking garage on the U.S. Census Bureau headquarters campus for an armed man who, according to a fire official, shot a security guard at a gate to the facility in Suitland, Md. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A U.S. Census Bureau security guard was shot and killed Thursday by a man whom police said kidnapped a woman in a domestic dispute and led officers on a car chase through Maryland and Washington D.C. before being shot and captured.
A spokeswoman for Prince George's Hospital Center told the Associated Press that the guard, identified as Lawrence Buckner, was pronounced dead at 7:19 p.m. local time.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier told a news conference that Buckner was shot after he approached a car that matched a description of the kidnap suspect's vehicle. The shooting caused an hours-long lockdown at the Census Bureau campus in Suitland, Md., just outside Washington.
The shooting was not terrorism-related, FBI Baltimore spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson told the Associated Press in an e-mail, a statement that Lanier confirmed.
WTTG reported that the saga began when the kidnapping was reported at around 5:30 p.m. local time in Northeast D.C. Shortly after, Lanier said Buckner noticed the suspicious vehicle with two people fighting inside.
After shooting the guard, police said the suspect took off, leading authorities on a chase back into the District of Columbia. At one point, Lanier said shots were fired from the suspect's vehicle at the pursuing officers.
Eventually, Lanier said officers were able to block the suspect's vehicle and collided with his car. The chief said the suspect opened fire again and police shot back, wounding both the suspect and an officer. WTTG reported that the injured officer is a D.C. police sergeant who may have been struck by a ricocheting bullet. His injuries are not life-threatening.
Lanier said the suspect was conscious and breathing at the scene of the shooting, but would not elaborate on his specific condition. Police said the woman was located around the time of the shootout in D.C. and was safe. It was not clear whether she was found at the scene of the shooting or whether she had escaped the suspect's car earlier.
Census Bureau employees were ordered stay inside and keep away from windows while officers hunted for the shooter, believing him to still be in the area. Employees were given the all-clear to leave the building at around 9 p.m. local time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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