LI Congressman Video: ‘Shots Are Being Fired Inside the Capitol’

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi released video of the moment shots were fired inside the U.S. Capitol after an angry mob stormed the building Wednesday.

In the minute-long video, Suozzi is wearing a surgical mask and walking through a corridor calmly.

“Shots are being fired inside the Capitol,” he said.

The two-term Democratic congressman from Glen Cove is then interrupted by what sounds like a scuffle and a man can be heard shouting,“Everybody down.” Suozzi can be seen huddling behind a row of seats to take shelter from the protesters.

Prior to the shooting, pro-Trump protesters angry with the election results gathered outside the Capitol and converged on the steps in throngs before breaching the vestibule and the House Chamber, where members of Congress were set to certify the presidential election. Images of the breach show one man displaying a Confederate flag, another man shirtless and wearing a headdress with Buffalo horns while screaming in delight, and another man can be seen walking off carrying a podium under his arm like a trophy. Other protesters sat down and took photographs of themselves with their phones.

When the House resumed its debate hours later, Sen. Chuck Schumer said that the day would go down forever in history as a day of infamy, invoking the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

“This temple to democracy was desecrated,” said Schumer, addressing his colleagues, adding “its windows smashed, our offices vandalized. The world saw elected officials hurriedly ushered out because they were in harm’s way.”

A woman was shot in the melee and died, according to The Washington Post. The exact circumstances under which she was shot are not clear.

Suozzi leads the Problem Solvers Caucus, which had been involved in the COVID-19 relief negotiations. He said he never thought he would witness shots fired inside the Capitol. His video was uploaded to his Facebook page within an hour of the House resuming its debate to certify the election results. “The madness is over. The healing must now begin,” he wrote.