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Man kidnaps woman, kills Census Bureau guard before being caught, police say

The shooting was not terrorism-related, FBI Baltimore spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson told The Associated Press.

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Alex Brandon/AP
Law enforcement officers investigate the scene involving at least one wrecked DC Metro police car, in the 1100 block of H Street NE, Thursday, April 9, 2015 in Washington. Police say a man who kidnapped his wife shot a guard at the U.S. Census Bureau headquarters in Maryland before leading police on a chase into Washington, D.C., that ended with the suspect and an officer wounded.
  • By Brian Witte and Jessica Gresko Associated Press

| Washington

A man kidnapped a woman, fatally shot a Census Bureau guard and led police on a car chase through Maryland and Washington, before authorities cornered him in an exchange of gunfire that left the suspect and a police officer wounded, authorities said.

The guard, identified as Lawrence Buckner, died at Prince George's Hospital Center after Thursday evening's chase and shooting, said Erika Murray, a spokeswoman for the hospital in Cheverly, Maryland. She did not give Buckner's age.

The woman who was allegedly kidnapped was found safe, police said in a news release.

The normally bustling H street corridor in Washington's northeast — where the chase ended —remained closed during rush hour Friday morning as police continued their investigation there. Local television showed yellow police tape still strung across one of the Census Bureau gates in the Maryland suburbs early Friday.

The Census Bureau headquarters was opening two hours late Friday morning, and workers were allowed to take unscheduled leave or to telework. Workers who had to shelter in place after the shooting Thursday night were granted excused absences.

The shooting was not terrorism-related, FBI Baltimore spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson told The Associated Press in an email.

"We believe this was domestic-related," D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

The officer and suspect were both conscious when they were taken for medical care, Lanier said at a news conference. There was no immediate update early Friday on their condition, and identities had not been made public.

Lanier said a guard at a gate of the US Census Bureau in Suitland, Maryland, saw two people fighting in a car that matched the description of a vehicle described in a report of an armed kidnapping about six miles away in northeast Washington.

When the guard approached the car, the man shot him and took off, crossing the border into the nation's capital and firing at D.C. police who had begun to chase him, Lanier said.

He fired again at them during the chase before police blocked him and collided with his car, Lanier said. Cornered, the suspect opened fire again and police shot back. During the exchange of gunfire, both the suspect and an officer were wounded, she said.

"We have every reason to believe that the car we have ... is the same car involved" in the kidnapping, the shooting at the Census Bureau, and the shooting at police, Lanier said.

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