WASHINGTON, July 16 (RIA Novosti) - A man was shot dead near the Capitol building in Washington after he fired shots at police and injured an officer, local police said.

Traffic police attempted to stop the man for a routine check on Wednesday afternoon near Washington's Union Station. He refused to stop, "nearly ran over two officers", and fired shots at police, police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider told reporters.

At least two officers returned fire, "because they were in fear for their lives," she said.

The shooting, a few blocks away from the Capitol building, took place while the Senate was holding a hearing. However, an FBI spokesman gave assurances that incident had no posed no threat to Congress.