U.S. Capitol Police detonated the trunk of a suspicious vehicle after it crashed into a USCP cruiser on Capitol Hill by the Library of Congress on Monday.
The vehicle rammed into a USCP cruiser near the Library of Congress, according to Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram. The crash occurred at approximately 11:45 a.m. One car, driving erratically, almost struck the parked cruiser before a second vehicle actually collided, according to Fox.
It remains unclear whether the two cars or their drivers were related in any way to each other.
The Capitol Police distributed an email calling the car "suspicious" and announcing that they would "disrupt the vehicle's trunk" as a "precaution."
Capitol Police about to "disrupt the trunk" of a suspicious vehicle near Congress. Brace for "loud noise." pic.twitter.com/9MQUuvnLAS
— Joel Gehrke (@Joelmentum) July 17, 2017
Footage of the incident posted just after 2 p.m. contains a loud boom, presumably from the "disruption."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWqD5GMABr5/
The USCP also preemptively announced several road closures, and directed "staff and other personnell ... to avoid this area until further notice."
Re: suspicious vehicle on the Hill, here’s info from Capitol Police earlier: pic.twitter.com/vm3s53dTQR
— Emma Loop (@LoopEmma) July 17, 2017
A subsequent statement from the USCP said that "the vehicle was cleared with negative results."
"There is no evidence to indicate any nexus to terrorism at this time," a USCP update read. "The Suspect has been charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon-Vehicle; Assaulting a Police Officer-Felony; Aggravated Reckless Driving, and No Valid Permit."
Capitol Police statement on suspicious vehicle says there's "no evidence to indicate any nexus to terrorism at this time." pic.twitter.com/kJUvDYesjB
— Cristina Marcos (@cimarcos) July 17, 2017
The crash took place specifically at 2nd St. and Independence Ave. SE, at the intersection around which several Library of Congress buildings cluster.
The driver of the crashed vehicle sustained injuries and was taken to the hospital. The officer in the parked cruiser sustained minor injuries.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
UPDATE 3:38 P.M.: This post was updated to reflect further information from the USCP.