BY TANYA BRICKING, PAUL BARTON and JOHN JOHNSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
From staffers calling their bosses to interns calling home, word of who had escaped the Capitol shooting unscathed spread quickly Friday.
Along with the good news came the close calls.
Like the staff of Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester.
Mr. Boehner was conducting a staff meeting across the hall from the site of the incident when gunshots rang out.
Boehner spokesman Dave Schnittger said Mr. Boehner's staff was startled by the sound of shots in the hallway. One staffer immediately phoned Capitol police. Neither the congressman nor any member of his staff was a witness to the shootings.
"It certainly sounded like gunshots, but it wasn't immediately apparent what the sounds were," Mr. Schnittger said. "It was clear that something unusual was happening."
Capitol police evacuated Mr. Boehner and his staff within half an hour after the incident.
The shootings took place by the office of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas. That's where Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, had dinner Thursday night.
Mr. Chabot was at the Capitol again Friday for the debate and vote on health-care reform. He left for his office across the street about half an hour before the shooting.
"I heard a helicopter pass very low around my office," he said Friday. It was the medical emergency chopper.
Mr. Chabot's staff immediately turned on the television to find out what was going on.
"I guess it reinforces the fact that unfortunate things can happen wherever you are," Mr. Chabot said. "Even in one of the most secure buildings in the world."
The scene was the same at the office of Rep. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati. The House had just completed the legislative business of the day, and Mr. Portman's staff was monitoring votes on C-SPAN. As soon as the votes were in, spokesman Brian Besanceney turned on CNN and heard that shots had been fired inside the Capitol building across the street.
Staffers immediately accounted for about 15 people who work in the office. Most of them had been in the Capitol at some time during the day.
"We walk through that part of the Capitol on a daily basis," Mr. Besanceney said. "It just makes you pause and think for a minute." Mr. Portman was a bit closer to the action. He was on the phone with an aide in the office of House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas. "Congressman, can I call you back in a minute?" the aide asked. "There are gunshots outside my door."
At National Airport, many commuters heading for "get-away Fridays" weren't aware of the shootings. The airport's televisions were turned to other channels.
The All Pro Grill, an airport restaurant, left on ESPN's golf tournament -- and even business people who had been around the Capitol that afternoon were content to watch something else.
At Gate 41, legislators heading home for the weekend were a little more thoughtful about guns in the Capitol.
"It's obviously appalling," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. "The first thing is you worry about the police officers. Access is a very important part of democracy. You have to figure out what you'll do about access."
Bernard Sanders, an Independent representative from Vermont, said, "Members of Congress have a very special relationship with the police. We get to know many of these guys."
"They have a very difficult job. Drawing the line between security and making sure everyone has access is difficult."
Continuing coverage from Associated Press
