A man drove his car into a barricade near the United States Capitol building in Washington DC and fired shots in the air before killing himself, police said.
When the man got out of the vehicle, he was engulfed in flames, the officers added.
The man shot himself to death while the police went to confront him.
It happened just before 4:00 local time (9:00 BST) on East Capitol Street and Second Street.
No one else was injured.
“Right now, it does not appear that the man was targeting any congressman who is on hiatus, and it does not appear that the officers fired weapons,” Capitol police said.
Death is under investigation by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
Neither the identity of the man nor any information on a motive was released.
