Woman Reportedly in Critical Condition After Shots Are Fired at U.S. Capitol

A woman has been shot inside the U.S. Capitol after a crowd of rioters breached the building's entry on Wednesday.

The woman was in critical condition after being shot in the chest, according to CNN.

Pro-Donald Trump rioters stormed the building in the afternoon, following an angry speech delivered by the president ahead of the Electoral College vote to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win.

Hours after Trump told the crowd he would "never concede," rioters moved from outside the Capitol building up its steps, eventually breaching the doors and turning violent inside.

The electoral vote was immediately called to a halt as the mob entered the building.

The ongoing situation forced the evacuation of lawmakers as well as Vice President Mike Pence.

The situation quickly turned violent with reporters including Huffington Post's Matt Fuller tweeting that gunshots could be heard outside the chamber.

Axios reporter Alayna Treene wrote that she and "several other reporters" were locked inside the Senate chamber with lawmakers after Pence was evacuated from the building. She added that at 2:29 p.m., she could hear Capitol Police yelling that shots had been fired.

"At 2:29pm police on Senate floor shouted: "SHOTS FIRED. MOVE AWAY FROM THE DOORS" At 2:31pm everyone was evacuated," Treene wrote.

In a phone interview with Fox News reporter Bill Hemmer, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy said he overheard, on a Capitol Police radio, that shots had been fired inside the Capitol at around 3 p.m. EST.

"People are being hurt. There have been shots that have been fired. This is unacceptable," McCarthy told Hemmer.

In a separate event, the New York Times reported that an explosive device had been safely detonated after being discovered at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The outlet reported that the Democratic National Committee was evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious package.

The U.S. Army has activated the National Guard in response to the riots, deploying more than 1,000 troops to points around Washington D.C., including the Capitol.

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