Kevin Johnson and Bart Jansen

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — An armed man was wounded Monday by U.S. Capitol Police when he arrived at the Capitol Visitors Center and brandished a weapon at authorities, police said.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said the man, who is known to authorities, appeared to draw his weapon when he was shot by police. One other person, described as a 35-to-45-year-old female bystander, suffered minor injuries from flying shrapnel or debris.

A federal law enforcement official, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the man was armed with a handgun.

Verderosa said the matter was "the act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol before.'' The suspect was identified by a federal law enforcement official as Larry Russell Dawson of Antioch, Tenn., who had been charged last year in a Capitol disturbance.

Dawson was charged Oct. 23 with assaulting a police officer and unlawful conduct on Capitol grounds, according to D.C. court records. He was released, but never appeared in court. A bench warrant was issued Nov. 19 for his arrest.

In another matter, Dawson's re-application for a license from the Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers was rejected in August 2014, according to board records.

The confrontation Monday, which occurred during a congressional recess, transpired in a matter of seconds near the entrance at the Visitor Center, prompting authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order, which was later lifted, as police massed near the scene. Following the reports, the Washington, D.C. police department tweeted that there was "no active threat to the public."

U.S. Capitol gunman: What we know

The Capitol Visitor Center remained closed Monday afternoon following the incident, and the Capitol was available only for official business.

Diane Bilo of Cincinnati said her husband heard a single shot in the visitors center and a clip of bullets being fired. Her husband, Robert, was in the center with their two younger sons, Michael and Matt, waiting for her to return from Ohio Sen. Rob Portman's office with gallery passes.

"It was scary," Bilo said. "Police said, 'Run, run as fast as you can.'"

She was communicating with her husband and children, who were still in the center's theater, by text.

"They are sheltered," she said, adding that she was relieved to hear from him.

Matthew Melucci of Connecticut said the situation seemed under control relatively quickly, but it was frightening as it unfolded.

"We were coming out of the Capitol when we heard 'Shots fired, shots fired,'" he said, before being pulled into a security area for a half hour.

"It was scary. I've got three children with me and my wife," he said. "It was a scary moment about what was going to happen next. We felt lucky we were there with several police officers."

Trotter and Anne Cobb of Birmingham, Ala., were eating lunch in the lower level of the Capitol Visitor Center when Trotter Cobb said he heard a "crack" of a gunshot, resulting in dropped trays and glasses crashing to the floor.

"Capitol Police came out of nowhere," he said. "They were amazing."

Tune Chang, 42, and his wife, Angie, and 10-year-old daughter Amanda were headed to the the center when they were stopped on the south side of the Capital and were directed across the street.

Tune Chang said he didn't consider safety issues when the family decided to travel from Los Angeles to Washington for a one-week vacation.

"We're in a better situation than the rest of the world" as far as security, he said.

Contributing: Christopher Doering and Bill Theobald

Capitol Visitor Center took shape after 1998 shootings