Rep. Vargas releases statement on what he saw outside the Capitol during lockdown incident

Today, Congressman Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, made the following statement after experiencing the incident that unfolded outside of the Capitol. “I was outside walking back to the Capitol when I heard a ‘pop, pop’. I thought the sounds were nothing more than a car backfiring, until I looked up to see a Capitol Police Officer charging at me yelling, ‘Stop, stop!’ Upon getting closer, he noticed my Congressional Pin, asked me if I was a Member of Congress and instructed me to show him my ID. Once the officer had verified my identity, I was told to remove my pin because I could be a potential target. “At that moment, I realized something was terribly wrong and asked him what was happening. I was informed that shots had been fired and that two officers were down. It was at that instant that I realized that the popping sounds I had previously heard were gun shots, not a car backfiring. Seconds later there were numerous officers with machine guns surrounding the area where I was standing, and I was sheltered in place.”